Cornerstone of new Amman Criminal Court laid in Jwaideh

AMMAN — A ceremony was held on Monday in Jwaideh, Amman, to lay the cornerstone for the new Amman Criminal Court building, which will be built on the site of the Public Security Correction and Rehabilitation Centre.

The ceremony was attended by Minister of Justice Bassam Talhouni, Minister of Public Works and Housing Falah Omoush and EU Ambassador to Jordan Maria Hadjitheodosiou, according to an EU statement made available to The Jordan Times. 

The construction project will be funded by the EU under its "Support to the Rule of Law in Jordan" programme and will be built over an area of 27,000 square metres at an approximate cost of JD22.5 million, the statement said.  

The project is designed to house, under one roof, all criminal commissions currently situated in different Preliminary Courts in Amman, amounting to seven commissions, with the aim of increasing them to 17 commissions. 

The new Amman Criminal Court will facilitate judicial work, taking into consideration human rights, by lessening the "considerably long time" taken to transport convicted and detained persons appearing before these courts, the statement said. 

“Enhancing access to justice and allowing citizens to receive more professional and qualified support is one of the main goals of the EU's action," Hadjitheodosiou said in the statement. 

The EU-funded Support to the Rule of Law in Jordan programme aims to enhance the effectiveness, transparency, accountability and accessibility of Jordan's Rule of Law in alignment with global democratic and human rights principles, the statement said, adding that to achieve these objectives, the programme will contribute to strengthening the institutional capacities of the judicial system with a focus on judiciary and law enforcement institutions. 

The programme will also contribute to the strengthening of criminal investigation skills, inter-agency and international judicial cooperation, public legal aid services and trial processes, while ensuring citizens’ awareness of their rights, according to the statement. 

The Support to the Rule of Law in Jordan programme is implemented by a group of international agencies in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, the Judicial Council, the Judicial Institute of Jordan and the Public Security Directorate, the statement concluded.