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Detainees Denied Justice, by Gerald Simpson, Kluwer Law International, 2001, 435pp

Detainees Denied Justice, by Gerald Simpson, Kluwer Law International, 2001, 435pp This book could have had a subtitle "Palestinian-Israeli Peace Accords and Palestinian Human Rights", because its main thrust is the extent of the erosion of human rights of the Palestinians under these accords and the impact they have had on the adminis- tration of justice by the Palestinian courts of justice, particularly the High Court. Human rights activists, Palestinians and others, and the media have, not infrequently, condemned human rights violations of Palestinians by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and deplored the failure of the PNA to implement decisions of the Palestinian High Court in respect of Palestinians illegally detained by Palestinian security. Prob- ably few have been aware of the fact that these deplorable acts were and still are gen- erated by an attempt to abide by obligations dictated by Israel in the various peace ac- cords concluded by the PNA. One of the important virtues of this book is the detailed analysis of these accords in connection with the human rights of the Palestinians and the obligations in that re- spect imposed by the accords on the PNA. One of the main features of the obligations created by these accords is the obligation on the Palestinian authorities to arrest Pales- tinians on mere suspicion not by the Palestinian, but the Israeli, authorities. Mere ex- pression of suspicion by the Israelis is sufficient to trigger the process of violation. No charge, and, of course, no actual commission of an offence. The accords provide no reciprocity of treatment: Israelis cannot be arrested and detained at the behest of the Palestinian authorities in similar circumstances. The result of this is that Israeli set- tlers actually commit criminal offences against Palestinians, sometimes under the pro- tection of the Israeli armed forces, and no prosecution follows. The absence of bal- anced obligations under these accords is astonishing. The impact of these stipulations on the Palestine administration of justice has been severe, and one is inclined to think that these stipulations have played an important role in the conflict between the judiciary, anxious to apply the law, and the PNA anx- ious to fulfil its treaty obligations. The PNA, in attempting to meet these obligations, faced not only criticism because of the violation of human rights of the Palestinians, but also the alienation of its own people. This book, which has been prepared for the Palestine Human Rights Monitoring Group, documents this impact by close analysis not only of the judgments of the Pales- tine High Court, but also the hurdles and lengthy procedure involved. The author produces English translations of the judgments, interviews with some of the judges of the High Court and lawyers. The analysis is thorough and sympathetic to the cause of human rights. The production of the judgments would not be enough to indicate the seriousness of the problem. Consequently, the author analyses the peace accords themselves, which are the real cause of the problem. Fourteen annexes are included to put the problem in its proper perspective. These annexes include international instruments as well as Pales- tinian laws and draft laws pertinent to the subject. The tragedy of the situation is that, in order to provide security (whatever that might mean) to the Israelis, the human rights of the Palestinians must be violated, the independence of the Palestinian judiciary must be compromised and rule of law disregarded. This is a recipe for revolt and not for peace. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law Online Brill

Detainees Denied Justice, by Gerald Simpson, Kluwer Law International, 2001, 435pp

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
Copyright © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
eISSN
2211-2987
DOI
10.1163/221129801X00392
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This book could have had a subtitle "Palestinian-Israeli Peace Accords and Palestinian Human Rights", because its main thrust is the extent of the erosion of human rights of the Palestinians under these accords and the impact they have had on the adminis- tration of justice by the Palestinian courts of justice, particularly the High Court. Human rights activists, Palestinians and others, and the media have, not infrequently, condemned human rights violations of Palestinians by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and deplored the failure of the PNA to implement decisions of the Palestinian High Court in respect of Palestinians illegally detained by Palestinian security. Prob- ably few have been aware of the fact that these deplorable acts were and still are gen- erated by an attempt to abide by obligations dictated by Israel in the various peace ac- cords concluded by the PNA. One of the important virtues of this book is the detailed analysis of these accords in connection with the human rights of the Palestinians and the obligations in that re- spect imposed by the accords on the PNA. One of the main features of the obligations created by these accords is the obligation on the Palestinian authorities to arrest Pales- tinians on mere suspicion not by the Palestinian, but the Israeli, authorities. Mere ex- pression of suspicion by the Israelis is sufficient to trigger the process of violation. No charge, and, of course, no actual commission of an offence. The accords provide no reciprocity of treatment: Israelis cannot be arrested and detained at the behest of the Palestinian authorities in similar circumstances. The result of this is that Israeli set- tlers actually commit criminal offences against Palestinians, sometimes under the pro- tection of the Israeli armed forces, and no prosecution follows. The absence of bal- anced obligations under these accords is astonishing. The impact of these stipulations on the Palestine administration of justice has been severe, and one is inclined to think that these stipulations have played an important role in the conflict between the judiciary, anxious to apply the law, and the PNA anx- ious to fulfil its treaty obligations. The PNA, in attempting to meet these obligations, faced not only criticism because of the violation of human rights of the Palestinians, but also the alienation of its own people. This book, which has been prepared for the Palestine Human Rights Monitoring Group, documents this impact by close analysis not only of the judgments of the Pales- tine High Court, but also the hurdles and lengthy procedure involved. The author produces English translations of the judgments, interviews with some of the judges of the High Court and lawyers. The analysis is thorough and sympathetic to the cause of human rights. The production of the judgments would not be enough to indicate the seriousness of the problem. Consequently, the author analyses the peace accords themselves, which are the real cause of the problem. Fourteen annexes are included to put the problem in its proper perspective. These annexes include international instruments as well as Pales- tinian laws and draft laws pertinent to the subject. The tragedy of the situation is that, in order to provide security (whatever that might mean) to the Israelis, the human rights of the Palestinians must be violated, the independence of the Palestinian judiciary must be compromised and rule of law disregarded. This is a recipe for revolt and not for peace.

Journal

Yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law Online – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2000

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