Press Release

PCHR’s comments on the Police Order issued by Palestinian Chief of Police to Prohibit Public Meetings without his Approval.

Ref: 31/2000

Date: 29 February 2000

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights is deeply concerned about the police order issued by the Palestinian Chief of Police, Ghazi Jabali, to prohibit holding public meetings without his prior approval. PCHR believes that this order contradicts Palestinian law and violates a basic human right, the right to peaceful assembly.

The police order was published in local newspapers today, and claimed to be based on the provisions of Law 12 of 1998 regarding public meetings. The order provided the following:

1. All citizens are absolutely prohibited from carrying out marches without prior permission from the Chief of Police. Applications for permission must specify the time and the route of the intended march.
2. Public meetings are absolutely prohibited, unless prior permission has been granted by the Chief of Police. Applications for permission must specify the date, location and length of the meeting, and the organisers of the meeting.
3. According to Article 6 of the Public Meetings Law, and without prejudice to any other penalty provided by the Palestinian Penalty Law, any person breaching this police order will be punished by a term of two months imprisonment or a fine of 50 Dinars (USD 70).

PCHR believes that the police order issued by the Palestinian Chief of Police violates the very law on which he claims it is based, Law 12 of 1998 regarding public meetings, as follows:

1. The law does not require prior approval of the Chief of Police in order to hold public marches or meetings. According to Article 3 of the law, citizens have the right to hold public meetings, but they must notify in writing the Chief of Police 48 hours prior to the time of the meeting or march. There is clearly a fundamental difference between a requirement to notify and a requirement to obtain permission. Notification, as required in the law, guarantees the basic right of the citizen to hold public meetings or marches, while requiring prior approval imposes a severe restriction on this right.
2. According to Article 4 of the law, the Chief of Police may impose some limits on the period or route of a public meeting or march, in order to ensure the free

 

movement of traffic. Once again this provision has nothing to suggest any authority to the Chief of Police to approve or prohibit holding public meetings or marches. On the contrary it allows only minor intervention in order to ensure free movement of traffic, to secure the rights of other citizens.

3. According to Article 7 of the law, the Palestinian Minister of the Interior is responsible for publishing the relevant by-laws and regulations required for the implementation of this law. Until now, we are not aware of any by-laws or regulations issued by the Palestinian President, in his role as the Minister of Interior.
4. The law specifies very clearly the definition of a public meeting. It is any meeting with more than fifty persons participating, in an open location, including public squares, stadiums, and parks. According PCHR emphasises that any other form of meetings whether in an open place with less than fifty persons, or a meeting in a building does not require prior notification to the Chief of Police. The police order, on the other hand, is vague and provides no clear definition of ‘public meeting’.
5. According to Article 8 of the law, the Ottoman Public Meetings Law, valid in the Gaza Strip, and the Jordanian Law No.60 valid in the West Bank, and any other provisions of law which contradict the 1998 law, are thereby cancelled. This article in fact, reflects the conviction of the Palestinian legislature of the importance of canceling all prior laws which restricted the right to peaceful assembly, and which were inherited by the Palestinian Authority, starting from the period of the Ottoman Empire, and ending with Israeli military orders.
6. PCHR believes that the Law of Public Meetings of 1998 is a real achievement for the Palestinian people, serving their aspiration towards an independent democratic state in accordance with international human rights standards, which assure the right to peaceful assembly. The law reflects an awareness by the Palestinian legislature that the right to peaceful assembly is one of the basic pillars of a democratic society, and one which cannot be denied. Jabali’s decision to issue this police order is an attempt to undermine the very purpose of this law.