اثر الجنون في التشريع الجزائي الفلسطيني "دراسة مقارنة"
Date
2020-06-03
Authors
مي جمال محمد عواد
Mai Jamal Mohammad Awwad
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Al-Quds University
Abstract
The subject of this study focuses on insanity and its impact according to the Palestinian penal legislation, presented in three major chapters. The study aims to show the effect of insanity on criminal responsibility, the criminal case procedures for accused persons with insanity and their penal status, and the measures taken by the courts when terminating the trial in cases of which the accused are proved to be insane. This is supported by highlighting the statuses of the Jordanian Penal Code No. 16 of 1960, The Palestinian Criminal Procedure Law No. 3 of 2001, and the Palestinian Reform and Rehabilitation Law No. 6 of 1998, guided by judicial rulings to demonstrate the extent to which these provisions and deficiencies are consistent with Palestinian legislations, where the comparative descriptive analytical method has been adopted in this study.
The first chapter of the study reviews the legal framework of the criminal responsibility of the insane person, which includes the definition of insanity, its concept, types, and its relation to criminal responsibility, as well as the difference between insanity and other suspected disorders, e.g. psychological, neurological, or mental, in addition to the conditions that must be met to refrain from criminal responsibility because of insanity. The second chapter reviews the impact of insanity on the criminal case procedures under consideration, and examines the impact of previous and subsequent insanity on the commission of crime, as well as investigations and trial procedures for the accused persons with insanity. It also includes the effect of insanity on the implementation of punishment, and the measures taken to address criminal risks by stating the legal gaps that were ignored by the Palestinian legislator in the Jordanian Penal Code No. 16 of 1960, the Palestinian Criminal Procedure Law No. 3 of 2001, and the Palestinian Reform and Rehabilitation Law No. 6 of 1998.
Findings of this study concluded that the Palestinian legislator in the Palestinian Criminal Procedures Law has failed to specify the type of action to be taken in the court case before or after it was raised, in case of the disability was presented in the meantime, influencing the measures taken. It is also evident that the Jordanian Penal Code No. 16 of 1960 applied in the West Bank did not specify the time period in which the court and/or the health institution are obliged to prepare a report on the health status of the person with insanity and the authorized party to disclose the patient’s health, opposite to the Palestinian draft bill which sets the minimum to be at least six months.
This research emphasizes the importance of giving recommendations to the Palestinian legislators to add a text in the Palestinian Reform and Rehabilitation Law that expressly stipulates the insanity of the accused and the procedures followed, by delegating medical teams to monitor the patients’ mental health, and to meet them daily. This in addition to examining the accused after being registered at the reform and rehabilitation centers, taking all necessary measures of treatment. Furthermore, a legal text regarding the implementation of death penalty against the insane person or any person with mental disability to be revised in accordance with the law, and to postpone the implementation of the punishment against the convicted person with insanity. This is whether the injury was before or after the act was committed, provided that the case of insanity was proven by the medical committee.