Parliament to hold joint session on state security bill

AMMAN — The Senate on Thursday rejected for the second time deputies’ amendments to the draft 2013 State Security Court (SSC) Law that exclude “acts of resistance against Israel” from the SSC’s jurisdiction, which is concerned with handling terrorism cases.

During their deliberations of the law, deputies added the provision to the bill, which was then removed by the senators.

But the Lower House insisted on its version of the bill and sent it back to the Senate.

According to Article 92 of the Constitution, the two Houses of Parliament will have to meet in a joint session to resolve their dispute.

The said article reads: “Should either House twice reject any draft law and the other accept it, whether or not amended, both the Senate and the Chamber shall hold a joint meeting under the chairmanship of the President of the Senate to discuss the matters in dispute.” 

“Acceptance of the draft law shall be conditional upon the passing of a resolution by a two-thirds majority of the members of both Houses present. If the draft law is rejected as described above, it shall not be placed again before the House during the same session.”

The Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted Senate President Abdur-Ra’uf S. Rawabdeh as saying that “resistance against Israel” should be removed from the SSC’s jurisdiction in order not to be viewed as a “crime”. 

“It is never a crime and never to be looked into by any court.”

Two weeks ago, the Senate’s Legal Affairs Committee recommended that the provision in question be scrapped, with its head, Senator Mohammad Raqqad, describing MPs’ amendments as “unnecessary”, saying that all international laws, including UN Charter, do not consider resistance against occupation as an act of terror.

Jordan is at peace with Israel as the two countries signed a peace treaty in 1994, ending 27 years of a state of war.

The amended SSC Law limits the jurisdiction of the court to five crimes specified in the Constitution: treason, espionage, terrorism, drugs and money counterfeiting.