The right to personal freedom is enshrined in the Palestinian Basic Law and confirmed by the international conventions, which the State of Palestine acceded to without reservation. Any restrictions on this right must be in accordance with the law. In reference of recognised guarantees, a regulation that restricts the right to personal freedom must be consistent with the Basic Law and international conventions. Detention or arrest of any person in contravention of these guarantees is arbitrary and considered a constitutional crime. As characterised by the Basic Law, this crime involves an abuse of the detainee’s personal freedom.

The Law by Decree on Cybercrimes No. 16 of 2017 (hereinafter Cybercrimes Decree Law or Decree Law) violates and impedes the right to freedom of expression, right to privacy, and right of access to information, seriously jeopardizing human rights. In addition to the continued absence of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), Palestinian civil society organisations were not allowed the opportunity to view or take part in relevant deliberations before the Cybercrimes Decree Law was approved and published in the Palestinian Official Gazette. As such, the Cybercrimes Decree Law was approved in secret. This approach was entirely inconsistent with the principles of transparency, community participation, and National Policy Agenda 2017-22: Putting Citizens First. According to the latter document, the government stresses its commitment to full partnership with, and openness to, the civil society in public policy and law-making making processes. The Decree Law also stands in stark contrast against international conventions, to which the State of Palestine acceded, and relevant international principles.

On 7 July 2015, the Palestinian Council of Ministers passed a regulation, amending the Regulation on Non-Profit Companies No. 3 of 2010, which was promulgated by the government on 15 February 2010. The new regulation is designed to subject funding sources of Non-Profit Companies (NPCs) to government control and prior approval.

This study came about as a result of a thorough review of the complaints documented by Al-Haq regarding alleged violations by the Palestinian security services during the period of Palestinian division. Al-Haq’s interventions and follow-up revealed broad ignorance of the law in addition to indifference from both the security services themselves and the Palestinian civilian. Therefore the study sought to clarify the relevant legal issues arising from detention and the inherent rights guaranteed within Palestinian legislation from the moment of detention until presentation before a competent court. The study also addresses the detention centers recognized by law and the legal safeguards during detention. Through this study Al-Haq’s seeks to raise awareness among the Palestinian security services and the general public and to promote rule of law and good governance in the security sector.

Al-Haq has repeatedly voiced its rejection and denouncement of prosecuting civilians before military courts. Al-Haq further deems that extending military jurisdiction to try and hold civilian persons to account is a clear and grave usurpation of civil jurisdiction and authority by the military judicial authorities. To this avail, Al-Haq presents this study in order to address the issue of military justice in the OPT from three main perspectives:

1. The set of regulations that govern the operation of military justice;
2. Legality of trying civilians before military courts; and
3. Legal liability arising from detaining and trying military personnel and civilians before military courts.

This report provides an overview of Al-Haq’s main findings during its monitoring of the Palestinian presidential elections. Held on 9 January 2005, they took place following the death of Palestinian National Authority (PNA) President Yasser Arafat in November 2004, in line with constitutional provisions that elections must be held within 60 days of the inability of the PNA President to govern.

This paper addresses the restrictions on the freedom of assembly and expression imposed by the Palestinian National Authority and the Palestinian Police. In particular, it considers the orders and directives issued by Palestinian authorities which specifically restricted such rights both generally and in particular environments such as schools. Some such directives are based on existing legislation, while others have no legal basis. Those with a legal basis are however the result of improper implementation of the law, or of a failure to adhere to the spirit of the law, thus resulting in the restriction of the Palestinians' rights.

This report reviews the conduct of the first elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council and President of the Palestinian National Authority which took place on 20 January 1996 in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It is based on monitoring by a team of human rights and election experts from Al-Haq, Article 19 and the International Commission of Jurists. It examines the legal framework in which the elections were held and details the violations of law occurring during the three phases of the election process: the pre-election campaign period, election day, and the post-election phase of counting and declaring the results and hearing election appeals.

This joint report by Al-Haq and Article 19 outlines the guidelines for media coverage of national elections. By delineating the distinctions between mandatory and strongly recommended guidelines, this report explicates the standards which governmental and non-governmental media corporations are obligated to meet, as well as those the national government has a responsibility to meet. The report provides commentaries on each classification of these guidelines.