Seminar in Amman on the application of international human rights conventions in Jordanian and German courts
General – Conceptual orientation
Legal policy starting point
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan continues to enjoy relative political and economic stability in the Middle East Region. The country is making committed and constructive attempts to support peace initiatives for the region. This is vital for Jordan given that it borders on Syria, Iraq and particularly also Israel and the Palestinian Territories, especially since a large proportion of Jordan's population is of Palestinian origin. The efforts that are underway in order to modernise the country, as well as in favour of domestic reforms, are being actively promoted by King Abdullah II. These reforms for instance led to the establishment of a Constitutional Court in October 2012, which commenced operations in January 2013, as well as to the parliamentary elections in January 2013, in which the Election Act, which was amended in 2012, was applied and which were implemented by an independent election commission. The country continues to face major political, economic and social challenges, and these are exacerbated by the Syrian crisis and the numbers of refugees, which are massive in comparison to the size of the Jordanian population.
Cooperation to date – strategy
The IRZ has been advising the institutions in the Jordanian judiciary in various legal fields for seven years now. Right in the initial stage, cooperation in the bilateral field was supplemented by EU-supported projects, thus broadening the spectrum of consultation. A project on human rights protection in the judicial system, in the implementation of which the IRZ was involved from 2008 to 2010, led to close, regular cooperation with the Judicial Institute of Jordan, in the context of joint further training events for the judges of all branches of the judiciary, as well as for the public prosecution offices. The IRZ took up cooperation with the Constitutional Court, which was newly-established in 2012. Since the court's activity is still in its infancy, support and consultation are highly welcome. Jordan is also increasingly involved as a partner country in multilateral IRZ events. This has led in the past for instance to new working contacts being established with representatives of the Jordanian Parliament. A successfully-implemented project on the reform of the prison system in Jordan has facilitated the establishment of very good, close cooperation with the penitentiary authority, which is affiliated with the Jordanian Ministry of the Interior.
Major partners
Ministry of Justice
Ministry of the Interior
Constitutional Court
Judicial Academy
Bar
Foci of activity in 2013
Conference on "The role and tasks of the Constitutional Court" in Amman
Seminar in Amman on the application of international human rights conventions in Jordanian and German courts
Participation by a delegation from the Committee on Legal Affairs of the Jordanian Parliament at the III International Conference of Parliamentary Committees on Legal Affairs in Berlin
Cooperation by Jordanian participants in a multilateral conference organised in Tunis by the IRZ, together with the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), on the implementation practice of the Hague Conventions
Implementation of the EU third party-funded project "Euromed Justice III" as a junior partner
Implementation of the EU's third party-funded project "Support to the Penitentiary Reform in Jordan"
Outlook
The IRZ's activities in 2014 will continue to concentrate on constitutional law, and will follow on from the cooperation with the Jordanian Constitutional Court to date. There are plans for a working visit by a delegation from the Jordanian Constitutional Court, amongst other places to the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, on questions of constitutional procedural law and on protection of human rights. This visit was planned to take place at the end of 2013, but this was not possible because of the Syrian crisis. Moreover, consultation in the field of criminal law (for instance on international mutual assistance in criminal matters) will once more receive close attention. This means that cooperation with the Jordanian Ministry of Justice will also be further stepped up. The regular cooperation with the Jordanian Judicial Academy will also be continued in 2014 in the context of joint further training events. Consultation in the penitentiary system was previously covered by the EU's third partyfunded project on penitentiary reform which has been implemented in Jordan since February 2012. After the conclusion of this project in February 2014, cooperation in the penitentiary system will be resumed within bilateral work. Consultation in areas of civil and criminal law will furthermore continue to be provided via the EU's regional project "Euromed Justice III", which will be implemented until September 2014.
Seminar in Amman on the application of international human rights conventions in Jordanian and German courts