RWI’s regional office in Amman, in cooperation and partnership with the Jordanian and Palestinian Judicial Institutes, has held four separate dissemination sessions in Jordan and Palestine over the past few months.
Each session presented national comparative studies that have been developed by working groups in each of the judicial Institutes.
The sessions aimed at spreading awareness and providing guidance to participants on how to use the studies as reference materials in their profession. More specifically, the sessions aimed towards integrating and instilling a human rights methodology and approach into the judicial mindset and practice.
The following RWI developed materials were referenced during the sessions:
- Manual for Training Methodology in the area of application of International Human Rights Conventions in National Jurisdictions
- Arab Jurisprudence in the Application of International Human Rights Conventions
- Arab Jurisprudence in the Application of International Conventions on Women’s Rights (International Women’s Human Rights)
The referenced materials were developed to serve as unique guides in applying human rights standards in judicial contexts along with the national studies.
“Participants had open discussions and debates about the practical implementation and integration of international and regional human rights standards in the judicial systems in the region,” says Yasar Abduh, Senior Program Officer in Amman. “The challenge in this context is to overcome the potential resistance of the justice actors in adopting a new way of thinking, analyzing and deciding on a case.”
The two national studies aimed to identify and analyze potential non-conformities between domestic law and ratified international human rights conventions. By combining a comparison between a selected area of law and international human rights law, the studies are both practical and applicable recommendations in courts when it comes to overcoming the legal challenges of non-compliance.
The Jordanian comparative study, “Integrating international and regional human rights standards in the teaching of national laws (Jordan’s Criminal Procedure Law,” was presented and discussed in Amman with 23 judges participating. Two similar dissemination sessions took place earlier in 2016.
In Palestine, the Palestinian comparative study, “Fair trial guarantees in the Penal Procedure Law No. 3 of 2001 according to international standards (integration mechanisms in judicial application,” was presented and discussed during three separate dissemination sessions in October in Ramallah, Nablus and Bethlehem with the participation of 60 judges and general prosecutors in the country.
About the MENA Programme
The implementation of this activity “Dissemination and Presentation Sessions” falls within the overall RWI MENA programme for 2014-2017,“Supporting the application of Human Rights standards by Arab Courts”, in coordination with the International Legal Assistance Consortium (ILAC) and through the financial support of Swedish Development Cooperation. The overall aim of the Programme is to strengthen the capacities of key institutions and actors to increase the application of human rights standards by courts in targeted countries in the MENA region.
Similar dissemination sessions in cooperation and direct engagement of partner judicial institutes are being held in several MENA countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria among others. RWI is currently in partnership with seven Judicial Institutes in seven countries in the region.