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Regional conference on the protection of fundamental rights in Amman

Published: May 7, 2019

Together with the Constitutional Court of Jordan, the IRZ organised a regional conference on 10 and 11 April 2019 in Amman on “Constitutional jurisdiction: Responsibilities and tools for the protection of fundamental rights”. As well as Jordanian judges from the Constitutional Court and the Court of Cassation and from other judicial authorities in Jordan, also attending the conference were members of the Constitutional Council of Algeria and of the Constitutional Court of Morocco, members of the Supreme Judicial Council and of the Provisional Authority for the Examination of the Constitutionality of Draft Laws in Tunisia.

The regional conference was opened by the President of the Constitutional Court of Jordan, Judge Hisham Al-Tal. The German Embassy was represented by Dr. Mark Erbel. During their opening speeches, both mentioned the prominent role played by constitutional jurisdiction in a legal system and stressed the responsibility of this court when it comes to safeguarding fundamental rights.

Representing the German side, Prof. Dr. Gabriele Britz, a judge at the German Federal Constitutional Court, and Prof. Dr. Michael Eichberger, a former judge at the German Federal Constitutional Court, reported on German legal practice.

During the two-day conference, the participants discussed the possibilities and instruments for the protection of fundamental rights by a constitutional court. On the second day, procedural restrictions, such as limitation rules, and the restrictions on the protection of fundamental rights in specific circumstances, e.g. where there is a terrorist threat, were also discussed.

The experts from Jordan, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia reported on their own current constitutional court practices and openly discussed the institutional characteristics of the responsible authorities in their own countries.

The lively, animated discussions about the special status held by a constitutional court in jurisdiction and in the justice system and about the court’s responsibility to safeguard citizens’ fundamental rights, showed that the subject was met with a great deal of interest by the participants.

This regional conference took place as part of a Transformation Partnership project on judicial training as a stabilising element of the rule of law in Jordan, which is being supported by the German Foreign Office and coordinated by the IRZ between 2017 and 2019.