AMMAN - The Lower House Legal Committee on Monday continued its discussions over the proposed constitutional amendments with various segments of society, meeting with university professors, senior judges and legal experts.
Participants in the brainstorming session, which the head of the committee, Deputy Abdul Karim Dughmi (Mafraq, 1st District), described as "highly specialised and of great benefit", focused on the provisions for the establishment of a constitutional court, the trial of ministers and the independence of the judiciary.
Nufan Ajarmeh, professor of constitutional law at the University of Jordan said "some of the amendments are just an identical copy of Bahrain's constitution" and "do not fit the situation in Jordan".
He added that provisions pertaining to the establishment of a constitutional court are not "precise and require revision", indicating that "they do not account for the exact mandates of the projected court and the number of its staff".
"Under the present amendments, the constitutional court will be acting almost similarly to the Higher Council for the Interpretation of the Constitution (HCIC)," Ajarmeh said.
His peer Sulaiman Batarseh, dean of the law faculty at Yarmouk University, agreed.
Noting that duties of the constitutional court are not adequately clarified in the proposed constitutional amendments, he explained that it has to be made clearer that the envisioned court will perform a legal and political role and not merely a judicial one.
However, Judge Ali Abu Hjeileh pointed out that the number of judges to be appointed to the constitutional court should be left open and determined according to the need.
"Apparently, articles pertaining to the HCIC in the Constitution can be said to be the same ones governing the constitutional court," Al al Bayt University's Eid Hosban said.
Moreover, he added that the court should not be confined to only interpreting the Constitution, but should also look into the constitutionality of laws and agreements signed by Jordan with other states.
"The establishment of the constitutional court has to be defined in three months, once the amendments are endorsed," Hosban said.
Judge Awad Laimoun, for his part, asked "what authority the constitutional court will be linked to if it is not affiliated with the judicial authority".
Dughmi responded by saying that "the court will be linked to the Constitution to ensure its complete sovereignty and full independence".
Judge Akram Masaadeh also said that "the constitutional amendments are just a copy of Bahrain's constitution".
He explained that trials of ministers should take place before regular courts and not a court of appeals as the proposed amendments recommend, calling for abolishing the provision which links the trial of ministers to at least 61 votes of deputies.
Responding to Masaadeh, Dughmi said "if that is allowed, then citizens will sue ministers if it happens that their transactions are delayed or badly handled in government institutions".
On the independence of the judiciary, some participants in the session called for granting judges immunity while others called for terminating what they termed as the "arbitrary lay off of judges".
Massadeh explained that most constitutions in the world have provisions about the immunity of judges except the Jordanian Constitution.
He added that judges in Jordan do not enjoy job security as they frequently get laid off by the Higher Judicial Council without even providing reasons.
"Why do we always assume that the judiciary is not independent when we insist on adding provisions to the Constitution ensuring that?" Ajarmeh said, noting that "judges are independent by nature".
Representatives of local newspapers, who also attended yesterday's sessions, stressed the importance of accelerating deliberations over the proposed constitutional amendments.
Al Ghad Editor-in-Chief Fuad Abu Hejleh said the trial of journalists should be in accordance with the Penal Code and not the Press and Publications Law.
© Jordan Times 2011
