The Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) on Wednesday sanctioned the first readings of a constitutional amendment to the judicial authority act and a bill criminalizing any illegal seizure of state property and land.
Chairman of the PLC legal committee Mohamed al-Ghoul stated in press remarks that the council voted for the amendment proposed to the judicial authority act in its first reading in view of the legal failure of the Palestinian Authority (PA) president to assume his duties after his term of office had expired.
“Because the number of the population increased over the past 10 years we have become in need for new judges according to the law so such law amendment was a must in order to prevent those who took over the presidency and the authority from intervening in the judicial system and creating appointments beyond the basic law the components of the judicial authority and relevant statutes” Ghoul elaborated.
“Due to the stature of judges and their importance there was a need to protect their appointment and make it under observation by the representatives of the Palestinian people” he added.
The PLC also endorsed the first reading of a bill calling for safeguarding state property and real estate against appropriation and theft.
The bill if approved into a law will allow the competent authorities to take the harshest punitive measures against any person or group that illegally seizes or uses state property and land and also to retrieve any resultant earnings or profits made by the transgressor.
