Lower House endorses amendments to Execution Law 

AMMAN — The Lower House on Thursday endorsed amendments to the Execution Law.

The Senate is expected to discuss the amendments to the Execution Law and the Penal Code at the beginning of the week following the Eid Al Fitr holiday. 

Then, the Senate and Lower House will hold a joint session at the end of the week to end a dispute over the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority and Independent Election Commission draft laws, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The Execution Law prohibits the imprisonment of the debtor, if the debt amount is less than JD5,000 or if the debtor fails to meet a contractual obligation of three years after the law comes into force.

Under the bill, debtors who fail to repay shall face a penalty of up to 60 days in prison per debt, with no more than 120 days per year, in case the debtors do not agree on a debt settlement, including repayment of an installment of 15 per cent of the total debt.

The draft law also stipulates that an individual shall not be imprisoned during the bankruptcy proceedings, as well as prohibits imprisonment for insolvent debtors and in the case that the imprisonment of debtors has negative social effects or negatively impacts the debtor’s household, provided that failure to debt imprisonment does not prevent precautionary measures from being enforced, including a travel ban.

The mandating reasons of the bill aim to achieve a balance between debtors and creditors in a way that ensures justice for all sides, in addition to limiting cases of imprisonment of debtors, as well as addressing some shortcomings that were revealed upon applying the law, and realising harmony between the Execution Law and other laws regulating some types of bonds.

The Temporary Execution Law of 2002 allows debtors' imprisonment for several debts per year, and stipulates that in the event of debt settlement the first installment shall not be less than 25 per cent of the total amount.