Above the Hierarchy: The Legal Status of the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in Light of the Constitutional Court's

Volume 13|Issue 72| Jan 2025 |Articles

Abstract

​This study focuses on the legal status of the Palestinian Declaration of Independence (PDI) issued in 1988 by the Palestinian National Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), in light of the Palestinian Constitutional Court 2018 decision, which granted the declaration a "supra-constitutional" status—placing it above the Basic Law issued by the Palestinian Legislative Council of the Palestinian Authority (PA). The authors characterize the legal nature of the PDI as a "Declaration of Rights" and argue that the Court, in issuing its decision, overstepped its interpretive power, deeming the decision flawed due to the political considerations behind it, aiming at enhancing the legitimacy of the PA by invoking the symbolic legitimacy of the PLO. The study comparatively showcases experiences from the United States, France, Egypt, and Algeria, revealing that none of these jurisdictions have granted Declarations of Rights a status superior to that of the constitution. The authors conclude that the Court's decision was unsound and that the PDI should be treated as a reference constitutional document, but not one that supersedes the Basic Law.

Download Article Download Issue Cite this Article Subscribe for a year Cite this Article
Rashad Twam (Corresponding Author)

Researcher and Assistant Professor of Public Law at An-Najah National University, Al-Quds University, and Birzeit University, Palestine.

​Lawyer and Part-Time Faculty Member, Faculty of Law and Public Administration, Birzeit University, Palestine​.

× Citation/Reference
Arab Center
Harvard
APA
Chicago