Report on the First Extraordinary Session of the 15th Jordanian Parliament
Report on the laws enacted by the first extraordinary session of the 15the Parliament
1 June – 12 July Report Number 2
Series of Reports on monitoring the performance of the Jordanian Parliament
A royal decree was issued adjourning the extraordinary session of parliament as of Saturday, 12 July. The session continued for 40 days, and this was the age of the session that began its first meeting on 1 June 2008. Thus the Parliament has completed its first constitutional year by enacting 64 provisional and draft laws, including 40 of these laws in the first ordinary session.
In the extraordinary session, the House of Representatives held two sessions. The first was on l June and the second was on the 4th of June. As for the remaining sessions, they were a completion of the second session where 12 supplementary sessions were held. The parliament focused in this session according to the Royal Decree which called for its convocation on passing a series of laws submitted to the House of Representatives. As for the supervisory powers of parliament, the House of Representatives deputies addressed 18 questions and gave answers to a specific number of a few questions. The House of Representatives deputies have also addressed 22 memoranda during the session. Therefore, the supervisory role of parliament in this session was described as poor compared with the legislative role which parliament should play
Ever since it was convened on 1 June, the extraordinary session was characterized with friendly relations with the government. There was a high level of understanding between the government and the deputies. By the end of the session, the government did not lose any of its requests to have Parliament pass the laws it wanted to pass quickly. The criticism leveled by the deputies to the government remained at a minimum. In the extraordinary session, two criticisms were leveled at the government, but they were a mild blame drawing the attention of the government to a mistake in drawing up the agenda and the drafting of laws.
The Most prominent legislation discussed at the extraordinary session:
According to the Royal Decree to convene the extraordinary session, the agenda of the session included 28 laws which were cited by the Royal Decree calling for the convening of the session. A total of 24 laws were passed while four laws were turned down. By and large, the extraordinary session is called the session of excellent legislation. The truth of the matter is that the deputies passed the legislation that was singled out by the Royal Decree.
The following are the most important laws that were discussed during the two extraordinary sessions of the House of Representatives and the remarks submitted by parliament members on some of these laws:
•1- The law amending the Law on Public Gathering of 2008: The House of Representatives Deputies approved in their extraordinary session draft laws that were relevant to public liberties, such as the amended draft Law on Public Gatherings of 2008, which civil society organizations demanded that it be revoked or that essential amendments be introduced to it. These organizations said that the amendments should stipulate that the party organizing the meeting or congregation should not be requested to secure the prior approval of the administrative governor.
It should be recalled that civil society organizations, professional associations and political parties have called on the House of Representatives not to pass the draft Law on Public Gatherings because the proposed amendments do not offer anything new on the question of political reform, but were in fact adding more negative factors to the draft law. These bodies have attacked the amendments proposed by the government because they did not introduce any change to the problematical questions in the law in force, particularly as regards the definition of the gathering and the need to secure the prior approval of the administrative governor to hold the meeting or gathering. The bodies opposing the law drew the attention that the laws on public gatherings which were in force earlier before the democratic relaxation of 1989 did not require the prior approval of the administrative governor, but only a notification on the venue and time of the meeting.
The Islamic Action Front Party with the support of other deputies sought to convince the House of Representatives not to pass the draft Law on Public gatherings because the amendments introduced to it were amendments of form, not of substance, and consequently, they had no real value. It was evident that the Islamic Movement bloc at parliament, consisting of Sulayman al-Sa’d, Azzam El Hunaydi and Hamzah Mansur sought to obstruct the passage of the draft law so as it would not be said that the House of Representatives passed the law without introducing a qualitative addition to it. Deputy Mamduh El Abbadi tried to settle the controversy of the draft law by asking the House to make a decision either to refer the draft law to the competent committee or to reject it without discussing its details. However, the reply to this proposal came quickly from Deputy Abd El Raouf El Rawabdeh who said: "this is a first reading of the draft law and the deputies are entitled to discuss the principles contained in it before referring it to the competent committee." Rawabdeh concluded by asserting that he supports the non-passage of the law.
The attitude of Deputy Bassam Hadadeen was close to the attitude of the deputies who demanded the non-passage of the law. He explained his position by saying that the "pressure which Jordan came under by the international organizations and civil society organizations sought to introduce meaningful amendments to the draft law. Nonetheless, the amendments introduced to the draft law were formal, not substantive. In view of this fact, the draft law should be rejected."
Once again, an attempt was made to make a decision on the draft law without entering into its detail. It was Deputy Muflih El Ruhaymi who demanded that discussion of the draft law be stopped and that it should be referred to the Freedoms Committee.
It should be recalled that at the beginning of the discussion, Deputy Abdul Kareem El Dughmi proposed the referral of the draft law to the Legal Committee because it was this committee which discussed this draft law at the previous session of parliament. However, the attempts to stop the discussion of the draft law did not succeed. The first reading continued with an attack launched by Deputy Ali El Dala’in on the reasons justifying the law, describing these reasons as trivial, and called for the rejection of the draft law.
The government justified the introduction of its amendments to the draft Law on Public Gatherings by its desire to shorten the time fixed for submitting the application to hold the meeting or to organize the procession to become 48 hours instead of three days. It said in the reasons justifying the issuance of the law that if the administrative governor fails to issue his decision rejecting the request at the end of the fixed period, the meeting may be held or the procession may be organized.
The draft law spells out the power of the administrative governor to disperse the meeting or the procession in case the meeting or the procession endangers lives or property or infringes on law and order. It changes the definition of the "public gathering" to restrict it to the discussion of matters relevant to the public policy of the State while excluding certain meetings and gatherings from the provisions specified in the law. The government viewed its amendment as a compliance on its part with the continuation of the political reform program and the sustainability of the process of development and modernization, and as a commitment to work to amend or to enact the necessary legislation that consecrates participation and the maximization of the democratic culture, guarantees the freedom of opinion, expression and human rights.
On 22 June 2008, the House of Representatives passed in its evening session held under the chairmanship of Speaker abdul Hadi El Majali and in the presence of the prime minister and the cabinet ministers an amended draft Law of Public Gatherings that included the amendments introduced by the House’s Public Liberty and Human Rights Committee to the draft law.
•2- The Societies Law of 2008:
The House of Representative passed in the session it held on Sunday, 6 July 2008 the Societies Law of 2008 with minor changes introduced to its original provisions. The law stipulated that foreign societies should not be engaged in politics or interfere in religious matters. Donations can only be accepted with cabinet approval, not by the approval of the competent minister as was the case in the earlier law.
The law defines a society as any corporeal person consisting of a group of people registered in accordance with the provisions of the law for the purpose of offering services or performing activities on voluntary basis without having profit as their target. Moreover, the society should not be conducive to the achievement of benefit to any of its members or to any specific person or achieve political objectives.
The articles of the law which was passed by the House of Representatives exclude from its provisions every corporeal person established by a special law, the bodies and committees registered in accordance with the provisions of the Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and Holy Shrines Law, the Zakat Fund Law, clubs, and the bodies and centers registered in accordance with the Law on the Higher Council of Youth. Meanwhile, the law prohibits the registration of any Masonic society or the registration of any society that has racist objectives.
The law stipulates that a register called the "Societies Register" shall be kept at the Ministry and shall be supervised by the Controller of the Register, who shall be appointed by a cabinet decision at the recommendation of the Minister and shall be attached to the Minister. The law stipulates that the Controller of the Register shall undertake to coordinate and cooperate with the competent ministries to determine the ministry to which each society should be attached in accordance with a special regulation to be issued for this purpose. It also stipulates the registration of the societies in the Register and the issuance of a registration certificate as well as the performance of any other duties or the exercise of any other powers entrusted to them in accordance with the provisions of this law and the regulations issued in accordance with them. The Minister shall name the person deputizing for the Controller of the Register in case of his absence.
The law has granted the cabinet at the recommendation of the competent minister the right to have as one of the founding members of the society a Jordanian Corporeal person from outside the societies. It also said that membership in the society should be restricted to one or more natural or corporeal persons and that its financial resources should be restricted to what the members offer in order to achieve the goals and purposes of the society as stipulated in its Articles of Association.
The law allows the registration in Jordan of a branch of a society registered in a foreign country for the purpose of offering its services in Jordan, provided that the main center of the society or any of its branches does not target profit or the achievement of any benefit for its members or to any other designated person or the accomplishment of any political objectives, and provided that the branch of the foreign society is registered in accordance with the provisions of this law. The application for registration should be accompanied with the Articles of Association of the society. The branch of the foreign society shall be prohibited from collecting donations or accepting any finances from within the Kingdom of Jordan without the permission of the competent minister.
The law stipulates that the application for registration and its attachments should be submitted directly to the Controller of the Register or to the Directorate of Social Development in the governorate. In this case, the directorate should send the application in full to the Controller of the Register within seven days from the date of its receipt by the Directorate. When the Controller of the Register receives the application, he shall immediately examine whether it was fulfilling the required conditions. In case there are documents that are lacking and were not attached, he shall notify the founders in writing within 15 days of the date of his receipt of the application.
However, if the society obtains any donations or grants in violation of the provisions of the law, the competent minister may take the measures that he deems appropriate, such as returning the donation, grant, or contribution to the donor or taking other measures. Additionally, the society may be subject to any penalties or measures stipulated in this law or the legislation in force. The society should deposit all its funds at one of the banks operating in Jordan. These accounts shall not be granted banking secrecy irrespective of any provision stipulated in any other legislation.
According to the law, a fund to be called the "Fund for the Support of Societies" shall be established at the Ministry. The aim of the Fund is to support societies. It shall have a corporeal personality and a financial and administrative independence. It may own movable and immovable property and invest this property in the manner which it deems fit. The civil attorney general shall deputize for the Fund in legal proceedings. The law also stipulates that anyone who undertakes to manage the funds of the society and spend these funds in a manner that is contrary to its objectives and purposes shall pay a fine of no less than JD1,000 and another fine equal to the value of the damage caused by the violation.
•3- Revoking the law of the Jordanian investment Corporation:
In the session which the House of Representatives held on Wednesday, 4 June, under the chairmanship of Speaker Abdul hadi El Majali and in the presence of Prime Minister Nadir El Dhahabi and the cabinet members, the House of Representatives revoked the Law of the Jordanian Investment Corporation of 2008. The House then started discussion of the Provisional Law number 54 of 2002 (the Law of Public Health) and introduced essential amendments to the law. The House decided to continue discussion of the remaining articles of the law in subsequent sessions. The House introduced a basic amendment to Article 3/C by committing the Ministry of health to provide health insurance to the citizens within the bounds of the available capabilities.
•4- The Public Health Law:
•- Provisional Law number 54 of 2002 (the public health law)
•- Provisional Law number 29 of 2003 (Law amending the Public health law).
•- Law amending the Public health Law of 2006.
The House of Representatives passed the most important law submitted to it, namely, the Public Health law. It took the House four continuous sessions to pass it. During the discussion of the law, there was a clear retraction by the deputies on the introduction of basic amendments to the law. The deputies retracted from their original position that the government should comply with providing comprehensive health insurance to all citizens without linking this duty to the condition that the resources for such an endeavor should be available. The deputies wanted the law to state that the government should comply with comprehensive health insurance to all citizens (without placing the condition that resources should be available for such an endeavor). However, the government insisted that the condition of the availability of resources should be included.
The most important and most serious amendments introduced to the articles of the law which were approved by the House was that the Minister of Health was granted the power to close down hospitals or medical treatment centers in whole or in part without the need to send a prior notification to any of them. The hospital or medical center shall not be allowed to resume its activities without first eliminating the violation that was committed. Such a measure of closing down the hospital or the medical treatment center is usually taken as an urgent precautionary measure to protect public health. The amendments also defined every medical or health profession and prohibited publicity or advertisement on matters related to medical and health professions.
A majority of 64 deputies attending the session obstructed the passage by the House of Representatives of a legislation allowing the abortion of the baby if it is confirmed that it was suffering from "strong defects." The House was content with allowing the abortion if the mother’s life or health was in danger. Deputy Mamduh El Abbadi, who was supported by deputy Nassar El Qaysi, argued that the science of medicine has greatly progressed and that it is possible now to precisely determine whether the embryo has suffered defects or not. They said that if the embryo is suffering from defects, the pregnant mother should be allowed to have abortion so as the family would not suffer in the future.
Article (13) stipulated three conditions. The first is a prior written approval of the pregnant mother that she will be operated on. If she cannot write or speak, the approval shall be taken from her husband or her guardian. Second, the testimony of two licensed, specialized, and experienced doctors confirming that the abortion should be done to protect the life or health of the pregnant mother. Third, the records of the hospital should include the name of the pregnant mother and the date when she had the abortion. The written approval and the testimonies of the two doctors should be kept for a period of 10 years, provided that the pregnant mother is provided with a certificate signed and stamped by the director of the hospital that the operation was necessary for the pregnant mother.
•5- The draft law on the Gendarmerie Forces of 2008:
In the session held by the House of Representatives on Sunday evening, 15 July, the representatives passed the Gendarmerie Forces Law of 2008. Among the reasons justifying the law was that it sought to raise the level of performance of the police force because of the progress that has been attained in local and international thought on law and order. Among the other reasons justifying the law is the need to consolidate national security and the protection of the national assets and gains. In fact, the police force is a parallel force that can help the other security services in performing their duties.
•6- Discussion of the Financial Leasing Law:
The House of Representatives passed the Financial Leasing Law of 2008 after introducing amendments to it. The reasons justifying the law said that it dealt with the question of the redefinition of the concept of financial leasing to become compatible with the technical requirements and modern applications of the concept. The amendments also regulate the basic conditions which should be available in the contract so as it could be adapted to become a financial leasing contract. The amendments further define the legal position of the supplier as a third party in the legal relationship existing between the leaser and the lessee as well as the definition of the obligations and rights of each of these parties in confronting the other parties.
•7- Revoking the Draft Law on the Council of Vocational and Technical Employment, Training and Education:
On 18 June, the House of Representatives passed the Law on the Council of Vocational and technical Employment, Training and Education of 2008. The law stipulated that 1 per cent of the profits of the companies licensed in Jordan should be allocated for the benefit of a Fund to be established in accordance with the law. The law excluded the Joint Liability companies and Limited Liability companies from the payment of this rate. Meanwhile, the law stipulated that what is meant is 1 per cent of the net profit that is distributed to the shareholders.
The rate of 1 per cent stipulated in Article (8) sparked a controversy in parliament. Some deputies described the rate as some kind of forcible collection of funds and would affect investments and its encouragement. Moreover, it constitutes a burden on the companies. Some deputies demanded that the rate be kept and the inclusion of the companies that have been excluded from the payment of the profit, such as the joint liability companies and the limited partnership companies, as a contribution in supporting the national institutions which provide trained workers to the companies.
A sharp argument ensued after deputy Hamzah Mansur made an intervention saying that the legislation is following the trend of the forcible collection of money.
Mansur’s intervention in addition to other interventions demanded the deletion of the rate of 1 per cent from the law or its reduction by one half. This has created a contradictory parliamentary mood which was clearly expressed by Deputy Muhammad Abu Hudayb in an intervention in which he hinted that there are deputies who own companies with big capital. He said that he was astonished how these deputies were asking the deletion of the 1 per cent payment. He asked: "why should it be too much for the companies to pay 1 per cent of their profits?" He added: "I am surprised at the attitude of colleague Hamzah Mansur and I appeal to the deputies not to fight nail and tooth to defend the companies so as it might not be said that the House of representatives is defending the interests of these companies."
As Deputy Abu Hudayb ended his intervention, many deputies wanted to reply to him. The first deputy to make his intervention was Deputy Wasfi El Rawashdeh, who requested that the statement by Deputy Abu Hudayb be deleted from the minutes of the session. He said that with all due respects to my colleague, Abu Hudayb, I want to suggest that what he said should be deleted from the minutes of the session, noting that we should not try to outdo one another under the dome of parliament.
The other reply to the intervention of Abu Hudayb came from Deputy Hamzah Mansur, who said: "Some colleagues are surprised at the request to delete the 1 per cent payment or reducing it. This was linked to the assumption that they had companies. I have no companies or relations with companies. But out of my spirit of belonging to the homeland and eagerness to protect investment, I demand the codification of our legislation against the forcible collection of funds."
The following deputies supported the deletion of the 1 per cent rate: Khalid El Bakkar, Yaseen Bani Yaseen, Yusuf El Qirnah, and Rasmi El Mallah, while the following deputies insisted on keeping it with the exclusion of the joint liability companies and the limited liability companies: Ayman Shuwyyat, Muhammad El Su’udi, Azzam El Hunaydi, Bassam Haddadeen, Muflih El Ruhaymi, Mahmud El Kharabshah, Mamduh El Abbadi, and Muhammad Abu Hudayb. While Deputy Hazem El Nasser and Abdul Karim El Dughmi called for the reduction of the rate and deputy Tareq Khuri suggested that the 1 per cent rate should be exempt from taxes.
Labor Minister Basem El Salem said that the 1 per cent rate would provide some JD 7 million to JD8 million. Before voting on the passage of the law was held, Article (14) of the law was cited as a reason for revoking the Provisional Law on the Council of Vocational and Technical Education and Training of 2001 on the strength of the argument raised by deputy Abdul kareem El Dughmi, who said: "this is sheer ignorance. The government should hold the Legislation Bureau accountable because it violated the constitution by suggesting a draft law that revoked a provisional law. The right thing to do is that the law intended to be revoked should be brought to the House of Representatives to revoke it because it was entered into the content of the law that was passed."
The Speaker of the House of Representatives said that the House should not revoke a law, but should only turn it down. Consequently, the law which is supposed to have been revoked will be presented to the next meeting of the House to make a decision on its rejection. The House amendments introduced to the law barred the Fund from enlisting the help of lawyers to deputize for the Fund on the question of the legal measures that should be taken before the courts so as to secure the rights of the Fund and to restrict these measures to the civil attorney general. The suggestion to restrict the measures to the civil attorney general was widely supported by the deputies.
The aim of the law, according to the reasons justifying it, is to raise the standard of vocational and technical education and training in order to increase the opportunities of employment in line with the recommendation made by the National Agenda. The law also seeks to harmonize the products of the training and education systems and the requirements of development and the labor market, to increase the participation of the private sector in the activities of planning, execution, financing and the evaluation of the programs of employment and vocational and technical training and education.
The House of Representatives decided on 22 June to turn down the Provisional Law number 58 of 2001 called the Law on the Council of Vocational and Technical Education and Training after earlier passing the draft law on the Council of Employment and Vocational training and Education of 2008.
•8- A law amending the Corporation Law of 2008:
On 22 June, the House of Representatives passed in its evening session held under Speaker Abdul Hadi El Majali in the presence of the prime minister and the cabinet ministers the draft law amending the Corporation Law and a draft law attached to the General Budget Law of 2008.
The House has also accepted the amendments introduced by its Financial Committee to Article 54 of the amended draft law of the Corporation Law of 2008 revoking the article on the capital of the company with limited liability, provided that it is no less than the minimum fixed by the Regulation that will be issued specifically for this purpose.
The House has also passed a draft law amending the General Budget Law for fiscal year 2008 earlier approved by the House’s Financial and Economic Committee as received from the government. In answering a question put forth by the chairman of the parliamentary Financial Committee, Khalil Atiyah, the Minister of Finance asserted the intention of the government to link salaries and wages with productivity and inflation as of the beginning of next year.
•9- Amended laws on transport, the maritime authority, the rights of disabled persons, and the general corporation of food and medicine.
On the session held by the House of representatives on Wednesday, 25 June 2008, it passed four laws and initiated discussion of a fifth law, namely revoking the Law on Independent organizations. The discussion of the law was completed in the session that followed, and the House voted its approval of the decisions made by the committees on the amended law of the Transport Law of 2008, the law amending the law of the Jordanian Maritime Authority of 2008, an amended law of the law on the Rights of Disabled Persons of 2008, the law of the General Corporation of Food and Medicine, which is the Provisional Law number 31 of 2003.
The session became problematical when the Minister of Health Salah El Mawajdeh left the session at the time when the House started discussion of a law involving his ministry, namely, the Law of the General Corporation of Food and Medicines. The deputies interpreted his walkout as lack of respect for the House. But the problematical situation was soon overcome when the minister returned to the session. Deputy Abdul kareem El Dughmi criticized the departure of the minister from the session by asserting that the law involves the Ministry of Health and that the exist of the minister was a gesture of disregard for the House’s Health and Environment Committee which looked into the law. Despite the proposal made by El Dughmi to postpone discussion of the law until the return of the minister to attend the session, Deputy Mahmud El Kharabsheh said: "It is true that this is a gesture of disregard for the House. But we the deputies are discussing the law according to the powers vested in us, and the minister concerned does not have to be present."
Meanwhile, Deputy Mamduh El Abbadi thanked El Dughmi for his remarks and noted that the "House was discussing an important law. The Minister of Health was present in the session but withdrew when the House started to discuss the law, and he should not have done so."
Abbadi supported the proposal made by Dughmi to postpone the discussion. In the meantime, Interior Minister Eid El Fayez tried to neutralize the problem by requesting the deputies to grant an opportunity to the Minister of Health, saying that the Minister "may have left the session to make a necessary telephone call, and there is nothing wrong when a minister leaves the House for sometime when a matter involving his ministry is being discussed."
At this point, Speaker Abdul Hadi El Majali addressed a question to the Interior Minister on whether the Minister was present at the House or that he left, noting that the reason which prompted the minister to leave was not because he wanted to make a telephone call.
Deputy sa’d hayil Surur said that the "exit of the minister when the House started discussion of the law drew the attention of the deputies. He added that regardless of the importance of the telephone call, he should not have left the hall when a law involving his ministry was being discussed."
•10- The Labor Law (draft law amending the Labor Law of 2008):
The House of Representatives turned down on Wednesday, 2 July, a government amendment to be introduced to the Labor Law allowing Arab and foreign workers to join Jordanian labor unions, noting that this was a violation of the sovereignty of Jordan. The House discussed the Societies Law and passed three laws on the vehicular traffic and the Labor law.
The House referred to the competent committees the drat laws involving the budgets of the companies for the development of Aqaba, the waters of Aqaba and Miyahuna as well as the amendments to the house’s regulations.
It should be recalled that the amendment introduced to Article 108 of the Labor Law stipulated that the founder of any employer’s labor union should be a Jordanian national while those applying for membership of the union were exempt of the condition of being Jordanian nationals.
Contrary to the decision of the House’s Labor Committee which discussed the law, the deputies insisted on keeping the restriction as is stipulated by the original Labor Law which prohibits the worker or businessman to be a founder or member of a labor union unless he is a Jordanian national.
The Labor Law was encountered with a series of problems, particularly the condition of citizenship for membership in the labor union. The deputies were of the view that the amendment was still too early to be introduced and that non-Jordanians should not become members of our labor unions.
The Chairman of the House’s Labor Committee tried in vain to defend the amendment which his committee accepted by saying: "the amendment grants the foreign workers the right to belong to the labor unions, but without having the right to vote or nominate themselves." He added that "it is not a nice thing to keep these workers outside the scope of the labor unions."
The press on its part noted that the Arab and foreign workers will not be able to defend their rights if they stay outside the umbrella of the labor unions. The press also drew the attention that international reports were published speaking unfavorably about the conditions of the Arab labor force in Jordan, thereby negatively affecting the image of the country.
A number of deputies attacked the law when discussion of the law was initiated by asserting that it violated the international criteria because it did not cover the question of labor disputes and that the amendments were not in harmony with the reasons prompting the enacting of the law.
The Labor Minister drew the attention that the reason for not sending all the amendments to the law in one package was because of the brief duration of the extraordinary session. Meanwhile, some articles constituting a priority were chosen so as to be compatible with the international criteria.
He said that the government is committed to submit the remaining amendments to the upcoming ordinary session. The law gives the Labor Minister the right to close down any enterprise for the period he deems fit if it becomes evident that an assault is committed by the employer or his representative in form of beating or sexual assault of his workers and employees.
The law stipulates the formation of a tripartite committee for labor affairs to give counsel on the affairs pertaining to the labor conditions and circumstances, to study and evaluate the questions related to the Arab and international labor criteria, and to conduct studies on the extent of the harmony of the labor policies and legislation with the needs of social and economic development and the international labor criteria, in addition to the discussion of labor disputes.
The law raised the minimum penalty of the employer or director of the enterprise whenever he commits any violation contrary to the provisions of the law from JD100 to JD300. The law kept the maximum level of the penalty at JD500.
While taking into account any other penalty that might be stipulated in any other legislation, the Labor law stipulated the punishment of the employer by a fine of JD500 to JD1,000 for any violation committed, such as the forcible utilization of the worker under threat or deception or coercion, including the seizure of his travel documents. The penalty shall be doubled in case of repetition. The foregoing penalty shall include the instigators, the partners and the intruders.
•11- The Traffic Law of 2008:
The House passed the Traffic law of 2008 and decided to reject two other traffic laws – Provisional Law number 47 of 2001 and Provisional Law number 53 of 2002. The traffic law which was passed by the House included the reduction of the prison penalty for the driver causing the death of others or causing a permanent defect to them from six weeks to three months while keeping the remaining penalties as they were. The House has also decided to reduce the penalties imposed for excessive speeding by JD30 for speeding 30 to 50 kilometers above the designated speed, JD20 for speeding 10 to 30 kilometers above the designated speed per hour. The amendments also stipulated that the Amman Municipality and the other municipalities and parties involved should be committed to coordinate with the public security services to safeguard the requirements of the traffic safety of pedestrians.
Conclusions:
After reviewing the overall laws and the discussions that were held on them, we can conclude the following:
•1- The extraordinary parliamentary session was characterized as being a strictly legislative session in the real sense of the word. This is a point which should be credited in favor of the parliament members.
•2- Some of the laws pertaining to public liberties were not compatible with the international criteria guaranteeing human rights, particularly the conventions which Jordan ratified, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
– The Societies Law of 2008 places unreasonable restrictions on the right to form non-government organizations and deals with these societies as if they should be an extension of the government. It also imposes government control on the founding, financing and activities of the societies. This makes it almost impossible for any non-government organization to undertake an objective critical evaluation.
– The new Law on Public Gathering introduced some improvements on the law currently in force. However, it brought nothing new on the question of political reform because no change was introduced to the problematical articles of the law currently in force, particularly as regards the definition of the meeting and the need to secure a prior permit from the administrative governor before carrying out any activity. In other words, the law stipulates the prior written approval of the administrative governor to hold any public meeting. Moreover, the administrative governor is not obliged to justify his reasons for denying the granting of the permit for any meeting.
•3- Non-government organizations were not consulted on the law, particularly those pertaining to public liberties. Needless to say, these organizations have an important role to play in regulating the resources of the people and offering services to the local community. In fact, they constitute a real partner with the government to offer services and to achieve sustainable development.
•4- Efforts to involve citizens in the legislative process are poor. The Legislation Bureau in Jordan has an electronic site which was established with the support of the United States Agency for International Development [USAID] devoted to publishing the draft laws which the government submits to the House of Representatives for the purpose of dialogue and collection of remarks on these draft laws. However, the draft law on public gatherings and the draft law on societies were not published by the electronic site.
•5- The social and economic rights of the foreign workers in Jordan are still being ignored by House members. The Labor Law has ignored the rights of foreign workers. It has specifically not allowed the Arab and foreign workers to join labor unions. Several House members who opposed the amendment could not introduce other amendments to the law to address the problems of the Arab and foreign workers in a manner that would protect their interests and enable them to resort to the judiciary. What is important is that in the final analysis, the House refused to introduce the amendments.
Recommendations:
In view of the foregoing conclusions, the Amman Center for Human Rights Studies [ACHRS] recommends the following:
•1- Attention should be paid to the international conventions on human rights, particularly those which Jordan ratified whenever the House enacts any legislation. On top of this is the legislation pertaining to public liberties such as the Law of Public Gathering and the Law on Societies.
•2- Involvement of citizens, civil society organizations and the private sector in the legislative policy should be strengthened by providing the opportunity for them to voice their views on this legislation before it is enacted and taking their views into account , all the more so because the philosophy of legislation, to start with, seeks to express the needs of society and to regulate relations among citizens on the one hand, and between the citizens and the State, on the other.
•3- All draft laws should be published by the newspapers and electronic websites before they are passed so as to enable citizens and the civil society organizations to be aware of them.
Special attention should be given to the social and economic rights of the Arab and foreign workers and laws that can provide them with protection should be enacted.
