Judges 'abstention from participating in the meeting with the quarter envoy in Jenin

means that Judges' status requires them to hold their meetings inside rather than outside the court

  Some local mass media circulated, within their overall all news coverage, the news of Mr. Toney Blair's visit, the quarter envoy to the Middle East, to Jenin Town on Tuesday 7, October, 2008. Mr. Blair held a meeting at Jenin Governorate Hall for discussing the Judiciary situation and Rule of law in Jenin , and a number of judges and law specialists attended the meeting.

The Honorable Mr, Issa Abu Sharar , Head of High Court/ the Chief Justice, appreciates greatly such visit and the issues which it raised, but , at the same time, he would like to explain that neither the  head of Jenin Court nor any of its judges participated in the mentioned meeting though the organizing party of the visit sent them  an official invitation for participation. The reason for refraining from participation refers to notion that the status and independence of the Judiciary Authority necessitates that the guests should visit the Courts' headquarters where they can meet the Judges and hear from them rather than that the Head of the court and any of judges should leave the court in order to meet the guests outside the court. This is followed according to the directed procedures given by the HJC. The Honorable Chief Justice explained to the organizing party of the visits the motives behind the Judges' abstention from participating in the mentioned meeting. 

Again, the Chief Justice welcomes all the international parties that support the Palestinian people and in particular those which support the Judiciary Authority and its institutions. He also assures that the HJC's doors are open-wide for every guest who may visit the country and wants to visit the HJC and survey the Judiciary Authority's needs and support it, on the condition of not letting that affects the independence and status of its authority.