Two-day exchange of experiences and expert talks on transparency in criminal proceedings with the participants of the Jordanian Judicial Council. Jordan
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.
Visit to the Jordanian Ministry of Justice by State Secretary Dr. Schlunk on 14th February 2023 in Amman (from left to right): Dr. Saad Al-Lawzi (Secretary General of the Jordanian Ministry of Justice), Mrs. Khuloud Al-Abadi (Secretary General for Administrative and Financial Affairs of the Jordanian Ministry of Justice), State Secretary Dr. Schlunk, Dr. Ahmed Al-Zayadat (Jordanian Minister of Justice), Dr. Florian Reindel (Chargé d'Affaires at the German Embassy in Amman), Dr. Bachler (General Director of the IRZ), Mr. Sidi Khairy (Head of Section for the Middle East at the IRZ). Jordan
The Jordanian Ministry of Justice and the Federal Ministry of Justice signed a memorandum of understanding in 2022. An official visit by a German delegation to Jordan took place on 14th February 2023 for some lively discussions on various agreed topics and to consolidate and strengthen legal cooperation with Jordan.
Jordanian Justice Minister Dr. Ahmed Al-Zayadat and the Secretary General of the Jordanian Ministry of Justice, Dr. Saad Al-Lawzi received Head of the Delegation, Dr. Schlunck, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Ms. Anne Zimmermann, Head of the INT-KOR Division at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Dr. Frauke Bachler, General Director of the IRZ and Mr. Sidi Khairy, Head of Section for the Middle East.
The participants emphasised the constructive and long-term legal cooperation between the two ministries, which both institutions wish to continue in the future.
State Secretary Dr. Schlunck highlighted the shared aim to optimise legal practice and strengthen the rule of law and once again stressed the importance of the memorandum of understanding signed in September 2022 to consolidate joint projects and increase exchanges of experience in the judicial system. A range of measures, workshops and expert visits are planned in this context, which will be implemented jointly by the IRZ and the Jordanian partner institutions.
The delegation also visited the Jordanian Judicial Council, where Dr. Schlunck was received by the President of the Judicial Council, Muhammad Al-Ghazoo, and the Secretary General of the Judicial Council, Judge Ali Al-Musimi. During the visit, President Al-Ghazoo stressed the importance for the Jordanian contingent of sharing experiences and training. He also recognised the importance of the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the Jordanian Ministry of Justice and the Federal Ministry of Justice.
The focus of both meetings was also on the project to increase effectiveness and transparency in Jordanian criminal proceedings, which the IRZ is currently implementing. The implementation is in line with the Jordanian strategy for the judicial sector for 2022 to 2026. Major themes here are the topics “Digitalisation of the judiciary” and the “Use of new technologies in the development of the judicial system”.
The delegation also held talks with representatives of civil society and German political foundations in Jordan. The core theme of the exchanges were the challenges faced in these respective tasks. In addition, a meeting was held with other stakeholders regarding the promotion of the rule of law, in which the participants explored opportunities to create synergies and discussed the effective coordination of the project work.
The personal meeting with the German delegation strengthened the cooperation with Jordan in promoting the rule of law that had started in 2006 and was therefore received extremely positively, including in the Jordanian media.
A working group consisting of the German expert team from IRZ and Jordanian judges, public prosecutors met for the first time in November 2022 in Amman to discuss the requirements and building blocks to increase the efficiency and transparency of the judicial system in criminal matters in Jordan. IRZ continued the exchange with the Jordanian Ministry of Justice in a hybrid format event on 13–14 December 2022.
The following experts attended on behalf of IRZ:
Fernando Sanchez-Hermosilla, Presiding Judge at the Karlsruhe Regional Court
Dr Stefan Trunk, Senior Public Prosecutor at the Duisburg Public Prosecutor's Office
Jürgen Marten, Head of Criminal Investigation Division – Head of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Office of Criminal Investigations
The participants and the team of experts focused on the possibilities of accelerating and shortening proceedings, and explained the relevant standards of the German and Jordanian Code of Criminal Procedure and other laws. For example, they discussed § 100 and § 130 of the Jordanian Code of Criminal Procedure, which allow the Public Prosecutor's Office to halt proceedings. At the same time, the IRZ experts dealt with §§ 153 et seq. (discontinuation of proceedings) and § 257c (Communication between the court and the parties to the proceedings) of the German Code of Criminal Procedure.
The topics discussed included in detail:
Options to discontinue proceedings: in the event of a minor infraction, after fulfilment of a condition
Separation of individual parts of the preliminary proceedings, particularly if that part is not decisive for the outcome of the criminal procedure
Mutual agreement procedure on the outcome of the criminal procedure
Duration of the pre-trial detention and the shortening of such detention period: legal remedies and special review of detention
Suspension of pre-trial detention and alternatives to pre-trial detention
A very interesting and lively exchange of experience took place as experts and participants exchanged views on the similarities in the approach in both countries and also highlighted the differences. For example, Jordanian law stipulates that a judge or magistrate may hold a suspect in pre-trial detention for a longer period of time to protect that person, provided a well-founded concern of revenge exists. German law does not recognise such procedure. In addition, the option to drop proceedings in Jordan only applies to minor offences, whereas in Germany this is possible for both misdemeanours and felonies - depending on the individual case – and is not excluded from the outset even in the case of a felony.
The Jordanian participants also asked question about compensation for pre-trial detention that is unlawfully served, and how it is calculated in the case of innocence, as there are no stipulations for such compensation in the respective regulations in Jordan.
Both parties were highly engaged in the project, and the meeting took place in a friendly and open atmosphere with lively participation from all participants. The aim of our Jordanian partner is to “increase the efficiency and transparency of the Jordanian judicial system in criminal matters” and it recognises the great role played by the Public Prosecutor's Office in achieving this goal.
The working meeting received support for the project from the Federal Foreign Office on the topic: supporting criminal justice reforms in Jordan 2020 – 2023.
IRZ thanked the working group for the successful cooperation.
