AMMAN — Monday’s revelation by
Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Musa Al-Maaytah that the constitutional amendments submitted by the government to Parliament include the formation of a National Security Council headed by His Majesty
King Abdullah has stirred up legal debate about the constitutionality of the new body.
اضافة اعلان
Law professor and former lawmaker Mosleh Al-Tarwaneh said the proposed body contradicts basic articles in the Constitution and is contrary to the principle of separation of powers. He told Jo24 that the new body jeopardizes the sovereign immunity granted to the King.
“This violates the Constitution by establishing a new authority next to the executive, the legislative and the judicial, and each of them has specific tasks and powers,” he said.
Tarawneh, who is dean of the law faculty at Al-Ahliyya Amman University, said the establishment of this new authority should be through a defense order and not through the constitution.”
For his part, Maaytah, said the government’s amendments to the Constitution included creating a National Security Council with the goal of facilitating cooperation and coordination between military and civil institutions.
“The idea of the National Security Council was proposed years ago, and there were advisors to the King on national security issues who were proposing the idea of establishing the council, as it exists in many countries of the world,” Maaytah told Al-Mamlaka TV.
Abdel Raouf Kasasbeh, head of the public law department, at Mutah University, told Jordan News that “the authorities of (the King) are defined by the Constitution. The authorities of the National Security Council may not be compatible with the authorities of His Majesty.”
“We should know what the role of this council will be and who will join His Majesty as its members,” Kasasbeh said.
“If its role is advisory, then establishing it would be possible, otherwise, this council would violate the provisions of the Constitution,” he added.
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