Supreme Judicial Council

The Supreme Judicial Council (مجلس القضاء الاعلى) represents the Palestinian judicial authority. It nominates judges for approval by the president of the PA and supervises the judiciary system, including overseeing the affairs of all judges. The Judicial Council was created through Article (1) of the 2002 Judicial Authority Act. The President of the Judicial Council is appointed by the Council itself.

In September 2018, the Palestinian Judges Association announced that 14 (out of 27) justices of the Supreme [High] Court had submitted their resignations in protest against legal amendments proposed by the Judiciary Development Committee “undermining the independence of the judiciary”. According to the Middle East Monitor: “The recommendations proposed to amend the law by making the appointment and removal of the President of Palestine’s Supreme Judicial Council in the hands of the President of the Palestinian National Authority.

In July 2019, President Mahmoud Abbas dissolved the Supreme Judicial Council, claiming it had failed to halt the deterioration of the judiciary, and replacing it with a Transitional High Judicial Council for one year. In January 2021, Abbas appointed Issa Abu Sharar as chief justice of a new Judicial Council. Sharar resigned in March 2024.