Implementation of Human Rights Conventions at the National Level: The Case of Palestine

Abstract

The accession of the State of Palestine to seven core human rights conventions provides an opportunity for lawyers and judges for implementing those conventions at the domestic level, especially in a plural legal system with multiple traditions that contradict international standards. Lawyers may plead before courts to apply such conventions by relying on the interpretation endorsed by United Nations treaty bodies: general comments, concluding observations, and decisions on individual complaints. Lawyers and other legal practitioners may refer to reports of human rights Special Rapporteurs, along with the juridical interpretation methods, including official/authentic languages, preparatory works, historical sources, along with scholars’ opinions. This article deals with the relationship between international human rights conventions and domestic law in Palestine. Each section presents the measures that have been taken by Palestine in relation with the UN monitoring committees and comprises two hypothetical examples as cases to demonstrate the convention’s relation to existing legislation and practices.