Study calls for expanding role, jurisdiction of Constitutional Court

AMMAN — A recent study related to the function and role of the Constitutional Court called for expanding its jurisdiction, so that more entities and individuals will be able to resort to this legal body for constitutional disputes and explanations.

Established in late 2012, the Constitutional Court is specialised in interpreting the Constitution, overseeing the constitutionality of laws and regulations in force and guaranteeing that the rights of all Jordanian citizens are upheld in accordance with the Constitution.

Currently, the Constitutional Court accepts cases from the government and the Lower and Upper Houses only.

The findings were revealed in a paper that was provided to The Jordan Times on Monday by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) titled “The Constitutional Judiciary in Jordan - A critical Review”.

The two main researchers of the FES analytical study that was published in November were President of Lawyers Without Borders (LWB) Sadam Abu Azam and Legal adviser at LWB Muath Momani.

“The Constitutional Court is an important legal body, aimed at safeguarding the legal rights of citizens, and that is why we need to constantly call for developing its work and expanding its jurisdictions,” Momani told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.

“People need to have strong faith in their justice system and to know that they can resort to the Constitutional Court to resolve legal disputes, which works to preserve their human and legitimate rights,” Momani stressed.

Turning to the court’s function, Momani said that since its establishment in late 2012, the court received “only 51 cases, including 17 requests to explain articles in the Constitution”.

“The court has dismissed around 75 per cent of the 51 cases  — 25 per cent on procedural grounds — since it was established in 2012,” according to Momani.

Earlier in November, FES held an event via the videoconferencing platform Zoom, which included the two researchers, a former official and a legal expert, to discuss the finding of the paper.

Abu Azam said during the event that it is important for the court to include judges from different and relevant high courts in Jordan.

“We also need to expand the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court to allow political parties, unions, civil society organisations and individual citizens the opportunity to file their cases at this court,” Abu Azam added.

Former Constitutional Court Judge and Senator Ahmad Tubeishat recalled his own experience as a serving judge at the Constitutional Court between 2012 and 2018.

“We only received around 40 filed cases during this period, which is a clear indication that it is difficult for individuals and entities to reach the court as needed,” Tubeishat explained.

That is why, Tubeishat added, “there is a need to amend some of the legal articles that are related to the formation of this legal body”.

Lawyer Nour Imam, who moderated the event, told The Jordan Times in a recent interview that the FES paper and the virtual event basically worked “to open a much-needed dialogue to discuss the role of the Constitutional Court and analyse its function and decisions”.

“There is a need to evaluate the work of the Constitutional Court’s work and its role in protecting the rights and freedoms of people,” Imam stressed.

In 2014, His Majesty King Abdullah referred to the importance of building on the court’s achievements in a way that serves cooperation and coordination among all branches of government.

The King reiterated the importance for the court to enhance its relations with international counterparts, underlining the importance of exchanging expertise with similar institutions worldwide, eyeing a boost to freedom, justice and equality.

The Constitutional Court “symbolises one of the most important accomplishments of our reform roadmap. The court provides an institutional tool to safeguard the separation and balance of constitutional powers, and the rights and freedoms of our citizens as granted by the Constitution”, the King said.

FES is a non-profit German foundation funded by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany headquartered in Bonn and Berlin. It was founded in 1925 and is named after Germany’s first democratically elected president, Friedrich Ebert. FES is committed to the advancement of both socio-political and economic development in the spirit of social democracy, through civic education, research, and international cooperation. The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung is the oldest political foundation in Germany, according to its website.