Jurisdiction of the Palestinian Administrative Court to Compensate for Unlawful Administrative Decisions

Abstract

The “Jurisdiction of the Palestinian Administrative Court to Compensate for Unlawful Administrative Decisions” study aims to explore the notion of compensation claims for administrative decisions, identify the unique characteristics of these claims, and elucidate their importance. Furthermore, it seeks to delineate the crucial elements required to establish the jurisdiction of the administrative judiciary in assessing the compensation due to the appellant following the issuance of an unlawful administrative decision against them. Given the importance of this topic in providing compensation to those affected by unlawful administrative decisions charged against them by the administration, a central issue arises: to what extent does the administrative court have jurisdiction to award compensation for administrative decisions made by the administration under the stipulations of the decision by Law No. (41) of 2020 concerning administrative courts and its subsequent amendments? The study concluded with several significant findings, the foremost being that the Palestinian Administrative Judiciary, as previously represented by the Supreme Court of Justice, operated under the regulations of the law constituting the regular courts, the Judicial Authority Law, and the principles of civil and commercial trials, functioned as a judiciary that could annul decisions without offering compensation and only operated at a single degree. This study presents multiple recommendations, with a primary focus on the necessity to revisit the texts outlined in the decision by Law No. (41) Of the year 2020 and its amendments pertaining to administrative courts. This is especially crucial concerning compensation requests that are not pursued in the wake of an annulment lawsuit due to the lapse of the designated timeframe for lodging an annulment appeal. In this context, the researcher proposes the inclusion of an article in the decision by law, which permits the appellant to initiate a compensation lawsuit independently, either under specific conditions and/or within a defined timeframe from the date the administrative decision was issued.