High level Palestinian delegation concludes visit to Germany

The Palestinian Minister of Justice, Ali Muhana, and the Legal Counsel to the President, Hasan Al-Ouri, concluded a visit from 27 to 29 of May 2013 to the Max Planck Institute (MPI) in Freiburg, Germany, said a EUPOL COPPS Press Release on Thursday. EUPOL COPPS organized and funded the visit and accompanied the Palestinian delegation. During their stay, they met with Sieber, Director of the MPI and Head of the Department of Criminal Law, and various MPI experts. The attendees were given various presentations on MPI expertise in the field of criminal justice legislation and related comparative studies. Several topics related to criminal policy matters and challenges in the Palestinian legislative drafting process were also discussed. On the last day, Palestinian and MPI representatives agreed on establishing far reaching cooperation in the field of criminal justice reform, comprising two cross cutting components. The first area involves  development of legislation in the field of criminal law and criminal justice, an exchange program of legal scholars/researchers and extensive exchange of expertise between academics, civil society and key players in the justice sector. The second area of cooperation, which is strongly related to the first, focuses on specific criminal policy matters.