The Oslo peace process: law and transition

In September 1993, the Declaration of Principles, signed by Israel and the Pales­tine Liberation Organization, formally kicked off the ‘interim’ or ‘transitional’ phase of the so-called Oslo peace process.

The flaws in the agreements,²² in particular the avoidance of the discourse of rights and the rule of international law, could not but have consequences both for people’s lives and livelihoods in the transitional period and possibly the future, but also for the perception and potential of efforts at rights-based legal reform, as discussed in the following chapter. Chapter 7 also discusses the activity of the Palestinian Legislative Council, elected in 1996, and in particular the history of the draft Basic Law. The progression of the Basic Law’s provisions on the place of shari'a (as a source of law) and of the function of the shari'a court courts is illustrative of differing aspirations and expectations on the part of drafters, legislators and different sectors of civil society. These points, and the advocacy efforts around personal status law launched by sections of the women’s movement and NGOs, are considered later in this case study. The remainder of this chapter reviews actions and initiatives taken by leading members of the shar'i establish­ment during the same period.