Students delve into role of parliament, public representation in Constitutional Law Unit seminar

Students enrolled in the Comparative Public Law course joined members of the Promising Researchers group to explore the role of parliament and public representation in the legislature in Palestine in a seminar organized by the Constitutional Law Unit in the Faculty of Law and Public Administration at Birzeit University on Saturday, March 30, 2019. 

The seminar featured Azmi Shuaibi, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council from 1996 to 2005 and currently an advisor to the Coalition for Accountability and Integrity’s board of directors, who outlined the history and development of the legislative council in Palestine and explained the principle of separation of powers and the mechanisms of checks and balances stipulated in the Palestinian constitution, the impact of the Oslo Accords on the role and function of the legislative council, and the relationship between the Palestinian legislative and executive powers. 

Asem Khalil, a professor of comparative public law, discussed the difference between laws passed by the legislature and laws passed by decree by the head of the Palestinian executive. He explained the representative nature of the Palestinian legislature and executive branches and summarized the impact of the political nature of the legislature on the laws that it passes. 

Rashad Twam, coordinator of the Constitutional Law Unit, fielded questions from the students who discussed how various actors use legislative power to gain political advantages and explored the relationship between democracy and the Palestinian quest for freedom.