After briefly reviewing the legal systems in the West Bank and Gaza from 1948 until the Oslo agreements, the author examines the major obstacles to creating a viable legal system in Palestine. These are the difficulties in unifying two distinct legal systems-the continental, Jordanian system in the West Bank, and the Anglo-Saxon, common law system in Gaza-and the blurred lines of authority. The author argues that the Palestinian legal sector, where decision making has been characterized by uncertainty, diktat, and personalism, can be seen as a microcosm of PA politics. In both the legal sector and in general, the PA has created a "politics of antithesis" to consolidate its own power.

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Copyright 1997 Institute for Palestine Studies
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