Decree by  Law No. () of 2017

Concerning the amendment of the Local Councils’ Elections Law No. (10) of 2005, and its further amendments

President of the State of Palestine

Chairman of the PLO’s Executive Committee

After reviewing the Amended Basic Law of 2003, and its further amendments, especially the provisions of Article (43), the Local Councils Elections Law No. (10) of 2005, and its further amendments, the Judiciary Law No. (1) of 2001, Law No. (5) of 2001 concerning the Formation of Regular Courts, and as per the endorsement of the Cabinet in its session held on January 13, 2017,

Based on the powers vested in us, for the sake of the public interested and on behalf of the Arab Palestinian People,

We hereby issue the following:

Article (1)

The Local Councils’ Elections Law No. (10) of 2005, and its further amendments is referred to for the purposes of introducing this amendment to the original law.

Article (2)

The definition of the Specialized Court enshrined in Article (1) of the original law covering definitions shall be amended to become as follows: Specialized Court: is the Election Cases Court for Local Authorities formed as per this Decree by Law.

Article (3)

A new article shall be added to the original law titled Article (2) repeated, and shall be as follows:

1. The Specialized Court shall be formed as per a Presidential Decree based on the endorsement of the Higher Judicial Council, and shall be comprised of a chief from the one of the judges of the Supreme Court, and fourteen members from the judges of the Appeal and First Instance Courts.
2. The Court is specialized in adjudicating the appeals of the decisions of the Central Elections Commission, as well as the challenges of the elections’ results.
3. The headquarters of the court shall be in the city of Jerusalem, and may have two branch offices in the cities of Ramallah and Gaza, and shall be divided into four tripartite committees. The Court committees are convened in the presence of three judges headed by the most senior judge, and if the judges’ share the same level of seniority, the committee shall be headed by the judge with the longest experience, and the Court Chief may convene the court in any location aside from those mentioned in this paragraph. Spatial distribution of the committees shall be subject to the decision of the Chief of the Specialized Court.
4. Requests and lists of appeals and challenges to the decisions of the Central Elections Commission shall not be accepted before the Court unless signed by a practicing lawyer, and the Central Elections Commission shall select a practicing lawyer to be its representative before the Specialized Court.
5. Appeal and challenge requests shall be submitted to the Court’s clerk within scheduled time frames set in the original law. A clerk shall be appointed in each of the branch offices of the Court. The Court shall adjudicate the appeal and challenge requests within the timeframes set in the original law.
6. The Court shall not be postponed, nor adjudications, unless it was necessary to maintain the defense’s right or public interest, and postponement shall not be longer than 48 hours.
7. The Court is specialized in adjudicating elections violations and crimes enshrined in the original law. The public prosecution represents public suits and the public right before the Court concerning elections crimes. The Court’s decision shall be final, and with this regard, a team of public prosecutors shall be dedicated to the Court as per the decision of the Attorney General of the State of Palestine.
8. Electoral appeals and challenges submitted as per this Decree by Law shall be exempted of all fees.

Article (4)

Article (13) of the original law shall be cancelled and replaced with the following text:

The decisions of the Central Elections Commission shall be appealable before the Court within five days of its issuance, the Court shall adjudicate the appeals within five days of its submission, and the Court’s decision shall be final.

Article (5)

All that may contradict with the provisions of this Decree by Law shall be nullified.

Article (6)

This Decree by Law shall be submitted to the Legislative Council in the first session it convenes for endorsement and approval.

Article (7)

All competent authorities, each within its own jurisdiction, shall implement the provisions of this Decree by Law, which shall enter into force upon its publishing in the Official Gazette.

Issued in the city of Ramallah on January 9, 2017

Mahmoud Abbas

President of the State of Palestine

Chairman of the PLO’s Executive Committee