The Missing Reversioner: Reflections on the Status of Judea and Samaria
![handle is hein.journals/israel3 and id is 291 raw text is: THE MISSING REVERSIONER: REFLECTIONS ON THE STATUS
OF JUDEA AND SAMARIA
By Yehuda Z. Blum*
I. General
Two recent decisions handed down by the Hebron magistrate, Mr. Hussein
El-Shajuchi, and by the Bethlehem magistrate, Mr. Tawfik El-Sakka, on
February 5, 1968 and on February 27, 1968, respectively, have brought to the
fore some interesting legal problems arising from the Six Day War of June,
1967 as a result of which Judea and Samaria (formerly known as the West
Bank of the Kingdom of Jordan) have come under Israeli control.
The immediate cause that has given rise to the elaboration by the two
learned magistrates of the problems to be dealt with in this paper was the
promulgation by the Officer Commanding, Israel Defence Forces in Judea
and Samaria, on October 23, 1967, of Order No. 145, concerning the status
of Israeli advocates in the courts of Judea and Samaria.' Article 2 of the
said Order provides that notwithstanding any existing provisions to the
contrary, any party to civil proceedings and any defendant in criminal proceed-
ings may authorise an Israeli advocate to represent him in such proceedings.12
Article 4 of the same Order stipulates that the Order shall be in force for a
period of six months from the date of its entry into force (i.e. October 23,
1967) unless it is terminated at an earlier date by the Officer Commanding,
Israel Defence Forces in Judea and Samaria.A In the preamble to the Order
the reasons given for its promulgation are to ensure the efficient maintenance
of the law, to enable the uninterrupted functioning of the Courts in the
District [of Judea and Samaria] and to make available the services of advocates
to the local population.14 As will be more fully explained later, the reason for
M.Jur. (Jerusalem), Ph.D. (London), Lecturer in International Law, Hebrew
University of Jerusalem.
1 See Collection of Decrees, Orders and Appointments by the Officer Commanding,
Israel Defence Forces in the West Bank District, No. 8 of December 29, 1967, p. 306
(in Hebrew and Arabic).
2 Ibid. An Israeli advocate is defined in Art. 1 of the Order as a person who is a
member of the Israeli Bar. All translations from the Hebrew are by the present
writer.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid. In view of the fact that the Arab lawyers in Judea and Samaria had not
resumed their professional activities by the time the Order expired, it was announced](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/israel3&div=26&collection=journals&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
What Is HeinOnline?
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most
The Missing Reversioner: Reflections on the Status of Judea and Samaria
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most