RAMALLAH, April 22, 2010 (WAFA)- The European Union Representative, Mr. Christian Berger, and Chairman of the Palestinian Bar Association, Mr. Ali Muhanna, today formally launched the EU's activities to support the Palestinian Bar Association until 2012. These will be provided by the €4.7m Seyada 2 project, 'Empowering the Palestinian Judicial System', funded by the EU.
At their joint press conference, Mr. Berger emphasized the importance the EU attaches to developing the Bar Association. 'Better lawyers means better justice', said Mr. Berger. 'It is only logical that the European Union's Seyada 2 programme does not only support judges and prosecutors. Professional lawyers are part of the foundation of a functioning legal system and vital for our efforts to help build a Palestinian state, which ensures the rule of law for all and is accountable to its citizens'.
Mr. Muhanna, stressed the importance of the European Union's role in the Middle East. He highly appreciated the EU's policy of supporting both the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority in achieving their goals. Mr. Muhanna praised the EU's support to the Palestinian justice sector in general. He welcomed the new focus which the EU had now adopted to support the Palestinian Bar Association through its Seyada 2 project, regarding it as an important step towards enhancing the rule of law and protecting freedoms.
Mr. Muhanna added, 'The entire board of the Palestinian Bar Association is looking forward with great interest to enhancing its relations with the European Union. With long-term support from the EU's Seyada 2 programme, the EU will promote the important role that lawyers have in Palestine, in raising the performance of our association for the benefit of the Palestinian justice sector as a whole, and in helping the Palestinian people achieve their ultimate ambition of a Palestinian state guaranteeing justice for all'. Mr. Muhanna took the opportunity of thanking Mr. Berger and the entire team of the Seyada 2 project on behalf of the PBA board for their efforts in supporting the PBA.
Afterwards, at the official dinner, the former chair of the Palestinian Bar Association, Mr. Ahmad Al-Sayyad said 'the Palestinian Bar Association has great ambitions to create different programmes for lawyers in general, and specifically for interns, to ensure that graduating lawyers are able to practice the legal profession efficiently and with competence'. Mr. Al-Sayyad added 'these ambitions have been reached through cooperation with EU-funded Seyada project and the European Union which has provided the financial and human resources needed to achieve the PBA's goals'.
During the dinner Mr. Ali Muhanna and the members of the PBA Board of Directors discussed with their European Union hosts the detailed plans for cooperation over the next two years. The EU's Seyada 2 programme provides the first major international support for the Palestinian Bar Association, the official Palestinian lawyers' association. The programme will help further develop the PBA over the coming two years, advising the institution, supporting initial and continuous training programmes for lawyers, in addition to providing advice on best practice to revise existing regulations and procedures.
The EU-funded project, Seyada 2, will run until August 2012 and also supports the Palestinian Judicial Training Institute, the High Judicial Council, the development of Legal Aid, and advice on Constitutional Review.
Seyada 2 is implemented by a consortium led by ICON-INSTITUT Public Sector GmbH and including the Belgian Development Cooperation Agency (BTC-CTB) and the Centre for International Legal Cooperation (CILC).
