Press Release

Press Release August 22 2000
Press Release Index
AL-HAQ and DCI/PS Convene the First Conference on Juvenile Justice in Palestine

Today, al-Haq and Defense for Children International/Palestine Section (DCI/PS) launched the first initiative to examine the issue of juvenile justice in Palestine. Recognizing that a proper juvenile justice system is the cornerstone for the development of the child, and taking into consideration the urgent need for reform in this area, the two-day event, "Towards a Unified Juvenile Justice System Guaranteeing the Rights of the Child," seeks to establish a national forum for the discussion and promulgation of legislation which bears in mind the best interests of the child. Speakers introducing the conference highlighted the importance and need of this initiative, citing the negative impact the Israeli occupation has had on the development of the Palestinian legal system, and called on conference participants to work together to ensure that the legal rights of Palestinian children are protected. The more than 200 hundred participants in the two-day event include judges, lawyers, members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, social workers, human rights activists and other professionals whose work involves children. Conference panels examine a variety of specific issues, including existing legislation affecting juveniles in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem, its practical application, international standards concerning juvenile justice, and the treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli military courts. Speakers on today's panels repeatedly highlighted the problematic nature of the current legal system, which is the result of centuries of foreign occupation dating back to Ottoman control of the area. Existing legislation that affects Palestinian children is an amalgamation of at least five different legal systems and not only lacks in unity and falls short of international standards, but also seriously fails to act in the best interests of the child. In particular, speakers cited the importance of noting that existing legislation is based on the legal systems of foreign occupiers whose foremost concern was preserving their position of power, rather than concern for the rights of the Palestinian people. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Palestinian children constitute 53% of the Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Furthermore, statistics show that the number of Palestinian children in conflict with the law is dramatically increasing. Following the first Israeli re-deployment in 1994, Palestinian society witnessed a rapid increase in the number of juveniles who come into conflict with the law. According to DCI/PS field research, between January and August 1996, some 400 children under the age of 18 appeared in criminal courts in the West Bank. Eighty-six of these children were sentenced to periods of detention in reformatory schools. Statistics from 1999 constitute a dangerous indicator of the manner in which the situation is developing. Social workers with the Ministry of Social Affairs followed-up 1,404 cases with Palestinian children from the West Bank and Gaza in 1999. Of those, 587 were sent to reform schools following court decisions. This is a drastic increase compared with the 86 between January and August 1996. Palestinian juveniles experience a more complicated situation than do juveniles in other countries. The laws currently applicable and operative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are an amalgamation of Ottoman Codes, British amendments thereto, Mandatory and Emergency Regulations, Jordanian laws and constitutional principles, and Israeli military orders. As each colonial, administrative or military power retreated, it left behind entire legal systems of sets of administrative orders, which operated with the force of law. For example, it is estimated that the Israeli military authority has issued more than 1,500 military orders in the West Bank and 1,100 in Gaza. Moreover, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are geographically separate and have historically been administered by different powers and subject to different laws. The result is that there are substantial discrepancies between the laws applicable in Gaza and those applicable in the West Bank. As such, Palestinian juveniles, in the West Bank and Gaza, are subject to two different sets of laws. Differences embodied in the respective legislation include definitions regarding the age of maturity, penalties for juvenile offenders, court procedures, arrest procedures and the role played by the superintendent of juvenile correctional facilities. Neither system guarantees the basic right of juveniles to legal counsel, and both systems lack legislation that obliges the state to deal with juvenile cases in specialized courts. In addition, both systems fail to regulate a maximum period, during which a child can be held before trial, and lack clear regulations concerning the procedures for arresting and detaining juveniles. Moreover, there are inexplicable and unacceptable gender differences in legislation applicable in Gaza which do not appear in West Bank legislation. In general, both systems fail to see juveniles as possessing basic rights. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) stipulates a number of regulations that should be followed in dealing with juveniles who come into conflict with the law, in particular articles 37 and 40. These stipulations were supplemented by a number of international declarations and additional regulations that reinforce and strengthen children’s rights. Since the election of the Palestinian Legislative Council in 1996, no new legislation has been promulgated addressing the juvenile justice system. These factors threaten the judicial system as a whole and its ability to maintain the rule of law in the territories under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority. The drastic rise in the number of children who come into conflict with the law accentuates existing problems and necessitates cooperation and the concentration of efforts to tackle these issues. This conference represents the first step towards this end and seeks to launch a widespread, national effort to address these complicated and serious issues.