Support to the Palestinia Public Prosecution (Mateen)

Project description

This is a capacity building project for the Palestinian public prosecution, with a particular focus on six local public prosecution offices in the West Bank. The key activities of the project included the setting up of uniform case and evidence management systems, the development of an administrative manual and of training curricula, the development of a data management system, entry of case information in the system and connection to the information management system of the courts, as well as coaching of prosecutors and administrative staff. The final external evaluation in late 2013 highlighted that the project has been instrumental in the change management of the public prosecution services in the
West Bank.

Over four years, CILC experts have provided guidance and support to their Palestinian peers, and in the process have enabled the development of solutions tailored to the actual local needs. The outcome of this approach was already visible by the end of 2013: due to improved access to information offered by the new case and evidence management systems, Palestinian prosecutors have been able to significantly improve their performance in court, as reflected by the number of cases won. Moreover, four out of six prosecution offices were able to decrease their backlog of cases.

This project is an excellent example of the CILC peer-to-peer approach. We started by supporting the Palestinian public prosecution in the systematic performance assessment of their operations, with the ultimate goal of helping to adopt best practices and comply with established standards and principles. The assessment and subsequent development of solutions was conducted in a constructive manner, relying heavily on mutual trust among the peers involved, as well as their shared confidence in the process. Beyond the concrete outputs of well-structured procedures and practical tools, the project kick-started an evolution of the institutional culture of the Palestinian public prosecution, on its way towards fulfilling its responsibility under the rule of law.