PROJECT PROPOSAL

upgrading and expanding the ecclesiastical court

of jerusalem

GA 059/16

LATIN PATRIARCHATE OF JERUSALEM

General AdministrationProject Development Office

may 2016

2 UPGRADING AND EXPANDING THE ECCLESIASTICAL COURT OF JERUSALEM

“The World Tells us to Seek Success, Power and Money;

God Tells us to seek Humility, Service and Love.”

(H.H. Pope Francis)

THE LATIN PATRIARCHATE

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (LPJ) was restored in 1847; its main goal is to promote the best interest of the local communities it serves in. Today, the Patriarchal Diocese oversees about 90,000 faithful in four countries, including the Galilee, The Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Cyprus, covering a rich tapestry of cultures, languages, religions and traditions. Serving all with special emphasis on the support and care of indigenous Holy Land Christians remains the enduring mission of the Mother Church, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

upgrading and expanding the ecclesiastical court of jerusalem

INTRODUCTION

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem Ecclesiastical Court

In the Latin Patriarchal Diocese of Jerusalem, as it is for the universal catholic Church, the administration of justice is secured by the Ecclesiastical tribunals, which apply, in their processes, «The Code of Canon Law» (1983). The processes deal, especially, with the matrimonial cases, as: the nullity of marriage, the separation of the spouses, the dispensation from a ratified and non-consummated marriage, the presumed death of a spouse.

Except for this, the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical tribunals of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, is extended also to the cases related to the Personal Statute whose jurisdiction, elsewhere, belongs to the civil tribunals. This jurisdiction is equal to the jurisdiction given to the other communities: Christian, Muslim and Jewish. The law applied is «The law of Personal Statute in the Latin Patriarchal Diocese of Jerusalem» (1954), and the subjects to be dealt with are: the legal successions, the testaments, the alimentary pensions, the guardianships, the adoptions of minors, the nominations of an administrator to the goods of persons considered absentees, the erection of a pious foundation (Waqf).

Ever since 1870 the Ecclesiastical court has been the main source to maintain and defend the individual and families rights of residents in the Holy Land, namely Christians. The court is not only instrumental today in Arbitrating and deciding on marital and successive rights of Christians, but is also the only source that has archived the movement as well as the changes that affected the residents of the Holy Land over generation and since 1870. The court as well as its archive are two instrumental institutions that require continuous upkeep and preserving.

NEEDSThe Court facilities are frequented by 20-25 different requests for amendments and alterations on daily basis, which totals to 450 requests per month. Those daily requests in addition to an average of 20 cases per month render the court a very busy place! However the current spaces available do not cater for the following:

3UPGRADING AND EXPANDING THE ECCLESIASTICAL COURT OF JERUSALEM

1. Private and well insulated rooms for testimonies and hearings.

2. Proper spaces for archiving and maintaining of existing archives that are accumulating.

3. The lack of proper digital archiving tools that protect the excising archives from decay and hence loss.

4. The lack of digitized and electronic capacity to enter and archive data simultaneously, a matter that will reduce paper use and render the court into an environmentally friendly building.

5. Proper offices for advocates and administrators that could handle the requirements of the day and provide the frequenters of the court with privacy.

6. The construction of the building is not well isolated and hence renders the whole building is insecure in terms of privacy and protection from theft, fire and other natural deterioration reasons.

SCOPE OF WORK

The proposed project will tackle both the inside and outside of the existing building and will provide the following:

1. Rearranging existing spaces to provide additional rooms for advocates and administrators as well as creating exclusive hearing rooms.

2. Accommodate ample and proper spaces for archives in both traditional and electronic forms.

3. Secure the building from the outside as well as from the inside against burglary and theft, fire, water and other natural deterioration aspects.

4. Provide and install proper office and archiving furniture.

5. Upgrade the Tribunal space and provide proper equipment and furnishing.

6. Install adequate communication, scanning and cooling systems at all facilities of the court.

EXECUTION/DURATION

The project will require three months and will be executed during the second half of the year 2016. LPJ team will prepare all necessary detailed designs and will be managed and supervised by LPJ technical and procurement staff as per LPJ internal contracting and supervision procedures.

4 UPGRADING AND EXPANDING THE ECCLESIASTICAL COURT OF JERUSALEM

PROPOSED BUDGET

ITEM   DESCRIPTION   TOTAL  AMOUNT    IN  USD  

1   Total  of  Civil  Works   76,738.29  2   Electrical  Works   13,512.50  3   Mechanical  Works   24,664.47  4   External  Works   20,781/71  5   Furniture   11,500.00  

Total  of  Ecclesiastical  Court  Works   147,196.97  Design,  Management  and  Supervision  10%   14,719.70  GRAND  TOTAL  OF  ECCLESIASTICAL  COURT   161,916.67    

PHOTOS

For further details, please contact the Project Development Office.

5UPGRADING AND EXPANDING THE ECCLESIASTICAL COURT OF JERUSALEM

LATIN PATRIARCHATE OF JERUSALEM

Rev. Fr. Imad TwalGeneral Administrator

General Administration OfficeJaffa Gate, P.O. Box 14152

Jerusalem 9114101Tel. + 972 2 6282323E-mail: ceo@lpj.org

www.lpj.org