Ref: 11/2018 

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) conclude the first training course for this year in the field of Family Law for young lawyers to help them obtaining the license to practice law before sharia courts.  The training course was attended by 42 male and female lawyers from northern Gaza Strip and was held between 11 and 15 March 2018 in Laterna Restaurant hall, north of Gaza City.

The program of the course included a number of international human rights instruments, including the International Bill of Human Rights (the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights); the Two Additional Protocols; provisions of inheritance and mandated will; Sharia Procedure Law; the Personal Status Law; family law; Palestinian Execution Act; Lawyers’ Code of Conduct; Cases and Rulings; and Mecelle “the Civil Code of Ottoman Empire.”  The 30-hour training course addressed those topics within 5 days consecutively.

A team of specialized trainers supervised the training sessions. The team included Sameer Hasaniyia, a lawyer at PCHR’s Women’s Unit, and Mohammed ‘Atallah, a trainer at PCHR, in addition to sharia judges namely Sa’id Abu al-Jubein, Ibrahim al-Najjar, ‘Omer Nofal; and Sa’id al-Nadim.

At the end of the course, PCHR held a closing ceremony where ‘Abdel Halim Abu Samrah, Director of PCHR’s Training Unit, pointed out, “this course aims at strengthening the capacity of trainee lawyers in order to obtain the license to practice sharia law and be qualified for pleading before sharia courts to defend women’s rights.”  He emphasized that such courses held by PCHR aim at deepening the knowledge of Personal Status Law and develop the Justice system in the Palestinian society, particularly that lawyer represent a main part of this system.  He added that PCHR will continue holding such courses in the coming period and the relationship between PCHR and trainees will not end at the end of this course but shall be enhanced. He also invited all participants to head to PCHR to benefit from its experience in this field.

At the beginning of his speech, Ahmed Budeir, Director of Sharia Bar Association, thanked and appreciated PCHR’s pioneering role in strengthening the capacity of sharia lawyers.  He added that PCHR has years of great work experience in the field of family law and pleading before the sharia courts to defend women’s rights.  He emphasized on the continuous relation between PCHR and the Bar Association and importance of enhancing it in favor of lawyers.  He stressed that holding such training courses would help lawyers in improving their professional performance.

The participants appreciated the distinctive role of PCHR in increasing the participants’ efficiency in pleading before sharia courts among young lawyers.  They also emphasized that the course is distinguished with its rich topics that would positively affect their professional level and make it easier for them to understand the Personal Status Law and so positively affecting women’s conditions.  They also praised the trainers’ efficiency and various and interactive training methods used in the course.”

It should be mentioned that PCHR is the first human rights organization in Palestine that hold such kind of courses as PCHR has accumulated great experience of long years in the field of Personal Status Law and pleading before Sharia Courts to defend women who are victims of violence.