AMMAN — The
Lower House of Parliament’s Legal Committee
met on Monday to discuss progress made in drafting the constitutional
amendments proposed by the government. The meeting is part of a series of
discussions that began on Tuesday with legal professionals and scholars to
scrutinize the legality of the 2021 proposed amendments to the
Constitution.
اضافة اعلان
“The committee has sought to reach the highest
level of consensus on the draft amendments before referring them to the House,”
said chair committee Abdul-Munem Odat as he opened the meeting.
He said the draft amendments to the
Constitution would pave the way for the new election and political parties laws,
as proposed by the
Royal Committee to Modernize the Political System.
“Together, the two drafts will introduce a road map for comprehensive political
reforms,” he said.
“The amendments that were proposed by the
government aim to establish a legal basis for the establishment of the National
Security and Foreign Policies Council,” according to an earlier statement by
Prime Minister
Bisher Khasawneh.
According to the government, the draft document
aims to reinforce the rule of law, ensure the separation of power of the three
authorities; government, Parliament, and judiciary, and to safeguard the independence
of Parliament and its oversight role.
Provisions were also proposed to empower women and persons with
disabilities to assert their roles as active members of society.
Lawmaker Imad Adwan told
Jordan News that the amendments also introduce provisions on the
service term of the House speaker, reducing it to one year from the current two-year
term, in addition to laws relating to the political immunity of
parliamentarians and ministers.
Adwan said that the ongoing discussions
involve applying extensive legal analysis and evaluation to the proposed amendments
and comprise the input of some constitutional experts “to determine if the
proposed amendments should remain unchanged, or if some should be altered or
deleted, before being sent to
Parliament.”
According to Adwan, there are lawmakers who
have a number of notable disagreements on a variety of issues relating to the
amendments. “Their concerns will be heard and considered under the appropriate
parliamentary procedures,” he said.
He added that the final decision would be reached
through a vote, “whereby lawmakers can choose to approve, reject or modify
these proposed constitutional amendments after they engage in a debate to
dissect every aspect of the document,” he said.
The Legal Committee will continue to convene
in the coming days, and according to Adwan, it is difficult to determine when
the committee members will complete deliberations exactly. “It could take a week to ten days before referring
the amendments to parliament for a final vote.”
Lawmaker Omar Zyoud told
Jordan News that since an amended election law is on the table as
part of proposed political reforms, it is crucial to ensure congruence between
legislation and the Constitution.
“These amendments focus on political reform and
will bring benefit to citizens, because political reform will inevitably lead
to more reforms across multiple sectors, whether it’s economic, administrative
or social reform. All Jordanians are for comprehensive reforms, so this is
desirable,” he said.
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