The Democratic Lawyers Association demands reviewing the amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code and stopping the expansion of decisions by law

Ramallah - Ofoq News - The Democratic Lawyers Association called for stopping the expansion of issuing decrees by law, and reviewing Decision Law No. (22) of 2026 regarding amending the Code of Criminal Procedure, warning of the repercussions of some of its amendments on the rights of the accused, guarantees of a fair trial, and the independence of the judiciary.

The group said, in a statement issued today, Thursday, that the continued issuance of decrees by law on fundamental legislative issues affects public rights, freedoms, and constitutional guarantees, at a time when the Palestinians are moving towards holding legislative elections that are supposed to restore respect to the popular will and the principle of separation of powers.

He considered that the amendments related to remote trial, expanding the trial of defendants in their absence and considering the judgments issued against them as judgments in their presence, entail serious risks that require an in-depth legal and legal review, stressing that accelerating litigation procedures does not justify diminishing the rights of the defense and the guarantees of a fair trial.

The assembly stressed that the constitutional principle is for the elected Legislative Council to exercise its powers, while issuing decisions by law constitutes an exception regulated by Article (43) of the amended Palestinian Basic Law, and is limited to cases of necessity that cannot tolerate delay, provided that these decisions are presented to the Legislative Council in its first session.

He warned that the continued issuance of fundamental legislation through decrees by law, despite the trend towards holding legislative elections, raises questions about the availability of exceptional necessity and respect for the principle of legality and balance between powers, considering that repeated resort to this mechanism practically turns the exception into an alternative to the elected legislative institution.

He stressed that addressing the crisis of criminal justice and the backlog of cases requires addressing the structural causes, most notably the lack of judicial staff and improving the efficiency of procedures, instead of weakening the legal guarantees for the accused, stressing that complete justice must be coupled with fair justice, and that the speed of deciding cases should not take precedence over the rights of defense and a fair trial.

In its demands, the group called for limiting the issuance of decisions by law to the narrowest limits and within the conditions of constitutional necessity, respecting the trend towards legislative elections, and not pre-empting the will of voters with fundamental legislation that is not justified by a true exceptional necessity.

He also called for subjecting the amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure to a broad legal and societal debate, ensuring the right of the accused to appear before the court and discuss the evidence presented against him, in addition to reviewing the decisions by law that affected the independence of the judiciary, and working to restore its effective independence and strengthen the independence and immunity of the legal profession.

The gathering called on the Bar Association, civil society organizations, and human rights and legal bodies to unite their efforts to defend public rights and freedoms, and to confront legislation that detracts from fair trial guarantees or exceeds constitutional jurisdiction.

He concluded his statement by emphasizing that the protection of the law is not achieved simply by issuing legislation, but rather by respecting the constitutional principles for issuing it and preserving the rights it guarantees, considering that restoring democratic life begins with respecting the popular will, restoring respect to the elected legislative institution, and ending the unjustified expansion in the use of exceptional powers.