Transparency within the judicial system

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Published: March 29, 2023

Jordan is pursuing a strategic plan up to 2026 which, among others, aims to reform the judiciary to make criminal justice processes more transparent and efficient. In this context, a seminar on increasing transparency in criminal proceedings was held on 6th and 7th March 2023 as part of the project to increase efficiency in criminal proceedings, which the IRZ is implementing in cooperation with the Jordanian Ministry of Justice and the Jordanian Judicial Council. The event is part of the project funded by the Federal Foreign Office entitled “Promotion of Legal Certainty: Support for Criminal Law Reforms in Jordan (2020-2023)”.

Judge Ali Al-Muslimi, Secretary General of the Judicial Council, kicked the seminar off by highlighting the great interest shown by the Jordanian partners and the importance of a close working relationship.

The focus of the first day of the seminar was to inform the public about criminal proceedings and public access to the main hearing. Attorney General for Tax Law, Judge Abdullah Abu Al Ghanem, addressed the basic principle of publicity in Jordanian criminal proceedings and Fernando Sanchez-Hermosilla, Presiding Judge at the Regional Court of Karlsruhe, presented the corresponding basic principle in German law. The speakers pointed out the similarities between the implementation in Germany and in Jordan. The focus of the subsequent discussion was on video interrogations, which is an issue of particularly high relevance for the Jordanian partners, as a corresponding change in the law is currently being drafted to implement questioning via video of persons who are particularly vulnerable and who require protection. Other major topics were the principle of attendance in criminal proceedings and the online questioning of witnesses by the Public Prosecutor's Office. Johannes Mocken, Public Prosecutor at the Cologne Higher Regional Court rounded off the first day of the seminar with his presentation on the role of the press spokesperson to inform the public about criminal proceedings.

The second day of the seminar highlighted more of the differences between the two legal systems. The focus was on the accused's right to legal counsel and to inspect files, and on the form of cooperation between the police and the Public Prosecutor's Office. In Jordanian criminal proceedings, a public defender may only be appointed and present throughout the proceedings if the accused faces a prison sentence of at least ten years or the death penalty. For crimes that carry a prison sentence of less than ten years, the accused can submit an application to appoint a public defender, provided that the accused has a monthly income of less than 400 JOD (equivalent to 524.86 EUR). The background for this ruling is, among others, the lack of financial resources available to criminal procedure in Jordan.

The two-day seminar ended with a contribution by Jürgen Marten, Criminal Director and Head of Department of the State Criminal Police Office of North Rhine-Westphalia, on the effective organisation of cooperation between the police and the Public Prosecutor's Office.

Further measures will follow on from the event over the year, including a “training course for trainers” on the subject of ascertaining facts in court and techniques for examining witnesses, and a seminar on increasing the efficiency of criminal proceedings.

The IRZ would like to thank the experts and participants of the Jordanian Judicial Council for the efficient exchange of experiences and the successful cooperation, and is looking forward to further events.