Legislative Process in the Arab World: Challenges and Opportunities
Under the Patronage of the Jordanian Minister of Justice, Mr. Sharif Al-Zu'bi, the Institute of Law (IoL) at Birzeit University in cooperation with Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the free University of Brussels (VUB), held a conference on " The Legislative Process in the Arab World: Opportunities and Challenges" in Amman, Jordan during 7-8 July 2007. It was attended by experts from eleven Arab and European countries namely: Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, Greece, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
It was overtured by the Regional Representative of Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Mr. Hardy Ostri, Director of IoL, Dr. Samer Fares, Representative of the Free University of Brussels, Kim Van der Borght and Mr. Sharif Zu'bi - all emphasized the need to develop the mechanisms of the legislative process as a pre-requisite for good governance, democracy and justice.
The working papers covered various vital topics such as: constitutional framework of the legislative process, impact of globalization and external factors on the legislative process in the Arab world, the role of parliamentary, governmental and executive bodies in legislative process development and the importance of technical and technological elements, including legal wording, in the legislative process within the Palestinian one-decade experience.
Recommendations:
- To formulate a clear constitutional framework that organizes the legislative process and identifies the regulations of each authority to avoid mandate intersection between the authorities and secure proper division of roles.
- To organize the management and content of the administration of the legislative process.
- To provide the legislator with the necessary technical and technological support tools, guides and legal information systems.
- To reinforce the role of the civil society organizations in the legislative process.
