“The increase in court fees drives people away from courts,” says Hatem Shaheen.
“This decision has not been ratified yet, and lawyers are the only ones to be harmed by it,” says Ali Mhanna. 

The motion for increasing fees of suits in courts applies to regular cases, while fees of legal cases will not be affected.

Hasnaa Al Rantisy – Palestine Economy Portal

Translated by: Tamara Barakat

 

The motion raised for the increase in regular court fees has angered the Palestinian Bar Association and the relevant parties. This anger also reached the Palestinian citizens and caused them to question who is truly going to be harmed by the increase in the fees, and whether this decision will benefit them and lead to a faster decision process and less procrastination in reaching a judgement. This controversial decision led to a series of protests against it upon publishing it on the Palestinian Cabinet’s website, only to be shortly removed after that.

 

Reasons for Increase in Fees

According to the motion, the fees of criminal cases, including murder and theft, will be raised. Such cases used to be filed for free at all courts except for at the Supreme Court, whose fees were 20 JD for any case and will now be raised to 200 JD.

Ali Mhanna, consultant and President of the High Judicial Council, said that this decision is still being considered, and that the increase in fees is to organize courts, for it will decrease the malicious prosecution claims and increase the quality of the work done and the seriousness of the filed cases. He also defended the decision, saying that those who lose the case are the ones to bear the fees, and that paying a token price like 100 NIS won’t prevent the grieved from filing grievances to the court.

He added that the poor can ask the judge to postpone paying the fees until the end of the suit, and so, the increase in fees will not harm those with a limited income.

 

Who are to be Harmed: Citizens or Lawyers?

Mhanna accuses lawyers of objecting to the decision because it harms their own interests, explaining that, “lawyers are ready to postpone cases and call for appeals for 20 years, and under this new decision, each postponement and appeal will cost new fees, and so, it forces them to carefully consider each step they make, and it limits the length of the cases.”

He continues, “For example, there are cases registered in 1987 and still pending until now, which made them lose their true value. The new fees will serve to limit this. And justice delayed is justice denied.”

On the other hand, Hatem Shaheen, the Vice-President of the Palestinian Bar Association, believes that the citizens are the most harmed by the increase in fees, saying, “As lawyers, we will not be harmed at all. The fees for cases are paid by those filing them, while lawyers receive their own payments which do not include the fees paid to the court.”

However, Shaheen thinks that the loss of lawyers will result from the reluctance of citizens to go the court. He explains his dissatisfaction with the decision, saying, “The judicial system’s aim should be to foster the loyalty of citizens to the institutions and prevent them from taking matters into their own hands or seeking the help of non-relevant parties. This will only increase crimes in society. We aim for a free judiciary and not the opposite.”

 

Accelerating the Judgement Process

Moreover, Mhanna explains that the increase in court fees accelerates the process of arriving at a judgement regarding the filed cases since any request by the lawyer to postpone the case will have to be paid for. Consequently, a decision will not need tens of years to be arrived at.

However, Shaheen thinks that associating the increase in fees with quickening the judgement process is illogical. The time period needed for arriving at a judgement depends on the judge, who, under the law, administers the case. This period differs among courts from one governorate, judge, and time period to another. “Between 2008 - 2011, judgments regarding the cases were reached in a short time.”

 

Decision Influenced by Experiences of Other Countries

Mhanna says that the decision was considered in relation to the experiences of other countries. In Britain, 2000 to 12,000 dollars are paid as fees for the cases. In Palestine, however, a person can a file a case for 20 JD against any politician, for example, which leads to the accumulation of cases.

Shaheen responded, saying, “Once education and health and other services provided in Palestine are the same as those provided in Britain, we will start paying the same court fees. Citizens do not receive any services like those provided in Britain. The priority should have been to positively provide Palestinian citizens with services and encourage them to stay in their country.”

He also adds, “Increasing the court fees suggests the inability to find a solution for the problem of judicial backlog. Instead, fees have been raised to drive away people from the judicial system.”