Statement: National Conference on Alternative to Detention and Restorative Justice
Written by Tshepo Tlhacoane
Statement: National Conference on Alternative to Detention and Restorative Justice
On Tuesday, 16 December 2025, the Danish Institute Against Torture (DIGNITY), in cooperation with the Jordanian Ministry of Justice, and with the support of the Embassy of France in Jordan, hosted the National Conference on Alternatives to Detention and Restorative Justice.
In attendance were judicial officers, policy makers, members of government, and members of civil society. The Amman Center for Human Rights Studies (ACHRS) was represented by Laura Vossen, Julia Verwei, Berta Aragoneses Carrés, and Tshepo Tlhacoane.
Attendees of this event learned about the various ways the Jordanian government is trying to modernize its criminal justice system. This particular event focused on the non-custodial alternatives to detention for individuals accused of minor offenses. In 2017, the Jordanian Code of Criminal Procedure was reformed, resulting in significant progress towards “reducing the reliance on pre-trial detention and promoting non-custodial alternatives.” Since then, and especially since 2022, following new guidelines by the Judicial Council, alternatives to custodial detention have become increasingly used and are slowly becoming normalized. The alternatives to custodial detention that were presented were:
- Electronic monitoring
- Travel bans
- House arrest
- Bail, and
- The prohibition of access to specific places
This approach, it was submitted, complies with human rights norms, as it presumes the accused person’s innocence until proven guilty, while also factoring any possible threats against the community, should the accused re-offend. Other benefits that were outlined were not subjecting innocent people to prolonged detention, which would allow them to continue with their professional, social, and personal responsibilities throughout the investigation period. Additionally, even if the accused is found innocent, detention may have serious social and professional consequences due to stigma amongst their community. Finally, panelists highlighted the threat of individuals learning criminal behavior while detained with professional criminals.
This approach is not without its challenges. Two major concerns that were highlighted were the lack of funding available for the electronic monitoring system, and the negative perceptions within the community when relying on non-custodial alternatives to detention. In the latter, panelists were concerned that members of the community might conflate the use of these non-custodial alternatives with inaction and a failure by the police and the criminal justice system to investigate and prosecute crimes. This concern, panelists found, can be remedied with a public information campaign.
ACHRS believes that the steps that have been undertaken by the Jordan Ministry of Justice, in collaboration with the French Embassy to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and DIGNITY form an important step in making the criminal justice system in Jordan as humane and just as possible. While Jordan is a unique country, ACHRS deems it important to learn from best practices in other countries and to tailor them to Jordan and its society. ACHRS commends the way in which the amendment has been rolled out and researched and is looking forward to more research on the matter, especially as non-custodial measures will be increasingly used.
However, ACHRS shares the concerns of the panelists and researchers about the perception of these alternatives to detention amongst Jordanian citizens. ACHRS deems it essential that these concerns are properly addressed, both for the non-custodial measures to become properly integrated in the criminal justice system, and for the community, which should not live in increased fear or even take measures into their own hands. Lastly, ACHRS encourages further evaluation and revising of the criminal justice system in order to make it align with human rights as much as possible.
To conclude, ACHRS welcomes the work undertaken to re-imagine the criminal justice system, and we hope that these steps will eventually lead to the abolition of the death penalty in Jordan and in the broader Arab Region.
