Quarterly Report #5: Palestinian Justice Enhancement Program

During the quarter, PJEP contributed to this goal through targeted assistance to justice institutions, legal professionals, civil society, and the public. PJEP continued to improve the High Judicial Council (HJC) services by completing upgrades to the Tubas courthouse. The program also began upgrading the First Instance and Conciliation courts, Civil Judgment and Notary Public Departments, as well as the archiving rooms for the Hebron, Dora, Tulkram, and Salfit courts. To further assist the HJC, PJEP's Case Management consultant assisted the HJC in developing new and effective case flow measurement and other statistical tools. Training was a significant focus for PJEP during the quarter. The program completed the "Keyboarding" training for 58 HJC and Ministry of Justice (MOJ) staff, resulting in a 28% increase in typing accuracy and a 15 word per minute increase in typing speed. Additionally, PJEP completed the "English Language Skills" training for 18 HJC staff. As a follow-up to the "Keyboarding" training, PJEP is preparing to conduct the "Basic Computer Skills" (ICDL) training for MOJ and HJC staff working in Ramallah, Tulkram, Nablus, and Hebron. PJEP also began the Training of Trainers (TOT) program for HJC court administrators. To improve the MOJ public services, PJEP completed all the upgrades to the Justice Information Center (JIC) and the Legal Affair's Department (LAD), which are housed at the new MOJ space. The program provided furniture and installed the signage for Tubas and Nablus Justice Record Office (JRO). PJEP is assisting the Ramallah MOJ office to launch the "One Million Document Project," which aims to electronically archive one million documents verified by the MOJ as part of the authentication services. PJEP also assisted the Palestinian Judicial Institute (PJI) by completing the upgrades to the training labs and meeting room, as well as the installation of the reception counter. The program continued to draft the Penal and Civil Law courses that will be added to the PJI's Diploma Judicial Studies (DSJ) program. Additionally, PJEP completed reviewing the Judicial Ethics course material and printed 500 copies for the PJI. Both USAID and the EU contributed to the development of the Judicial Ethics course material. PJEP's assistance to law schools included preparing qualified third and fourth-year law students to participate in moot court competitions. The program created moot court facilities for Hebron, Al Ahliya, and An Najah Universities, enabling law students to strengthen their oral argument capability. PJEP also completed the computer labs for Hebron, Al Ahliya, and An Najah Universities. PJEP continued to support the enhancement of the HJC and MOJ public outreach capacities by conducting and completing the "Filmmaking" training for MOJ and HJC staff and by purchasing media equipment for the HJC Media Unit. The program also supported the production of the 7th Edition of the HJC Quarterly Newsletter, titled "Qada'una" (Our Justice System). Support was provided for the MOJ's JRO campaign, which aimed to highlight and provide information on the services the MOJ's JRO offers to the public. The radio series campaign was also launched this quarter, with 11 episodes aired to date on the national radio station Raya FM twice a week. Another major highlight this quarter was signing Grant Implementation Agreements (GIA) with four Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). PJEP awarded four grants totaling $100,000 to EL-Lid Charitable Society, Juhoud for Community and Rural Development, Students' Forum Institute, and Al Marsad – Arab World Democracy and Electoral Monitor. The grants will raise awareness of the Rule of Law and human rights and promote civic education in various West Bank cities.