Human Rights and Democracy Media Center “SHAMS” Has Organized a focus group workshop to discuss the reality of arbitration in Palestine, with the participation of arbitrators who are specialized in land disputes, Construction and Building disputes, financial disputes, Banking disputes, Work disputes, Commercial and civil Contracts disputes, and Personal statuses disputes in Hebron. This meeting is a part of a project to promote civilians access to official ADR methods, sponsored by Sawasiya of UN-WOMEN, UNDP, UNICEF, and in cooperation with the commercial arbitration center in the Palestinian commercial chamber.
SAWASIYA representative Ma’moun Attili has spoken of the program and the roles it plays in promoting access to justice, and in encouraging civilians to use alternative dispute resolution methods in solving disputes, through working with civil society institutions and the Supreme Judiciary Council as well as the Ministry of Justice to promote the work with ADR methods to solve disputes. He stressed on the importance of suggesting new approaches to develop the arbitration system in Palestine, which could include amendments to legislations and law articles that relate to arbitration, in order to enhance a better, easier, and faster access to justice, and decrease the judiciary suffocation situation.
Mr. Adnan Natsheh presented and introductory session on the center and the efforts of the committee towards building and developing the arbitration center.
Amal Faqih, Executive director of “SHAMS”, presented an introduction on the center’s project aiming to promote civilians access to ADR methods such as mediation and arbitration, and other ADR methods.
Professor Ahmad Swaiti, dean of Faculty of law and political science in Hebron University, has elaborated on the cooperation between the Hebron University and the commercial chamber on Establishing the Arbitration Center, in addition, Lawyer, Issam Tamimi, has explained the mechanism of the Arbitration center’s work, and its legal background, as well as the mechanism of selecting arbitrators.
At the end of the meeting, the participants have recommended and stressed on the necessity of promoting the role of the supreme Judiciary council in arbitration, and to raise awareness of dispute parties on arbitration and its efficiency in solving disputes, as well as promote the culture of arbitration through different media sectors, and to work on holding workshops through an ongoing basis to promote and raise awareness of Arbitration, and to achieve the desired outcomes of promoting it, in addition to that, it was recommended to enhance cooperation between all institutions that work in the field of arbitration, and that there should be a bigger role for the ministry of justice in following up with arbitrators after being selected and certified based on their abilities, moreover, to hold on workshops that aim to build capacities of arbitrators, also calls for appointing judges that are specialized in arbitration in the Palestinian courts, to approve on decisions that are issued by different centers of arbitration, and the necessity of establishing a mechanism to implement the decisions of arbitration system in a way that takes in consideration the founding objectives of arbitration.
After the end of the meeting, participants visited the arbitration commercial center, and were briefed on the work mechanism and on many stories of success that were achieved since founding.