Jordan Times
Monday, April 10, 2006
65 bills passed during third ordinary session
By Mohammad Ben Hussein
AMMAN — When discussing legislative achievements in the last session of Parliament, some deputies point to the passing of an unprecedented 65 bills during the four-month assembly.
But many legislators feel the volume of laws deliberated during the third ordinary session hampered them from their equally essential duties, mainly overseeing government performance.
“The monitory role of the Parliament was dysfunctional because of the large number of temporary laws the House had to discuss,” said Azzam Hneidi (Amman First District), head of the Islamic Action Front bloc comprising 17 deputies.
Important laws passed included the telecommunications, passengers, army, housing and urban development corporation, environment, tourism and antiquities, public services, education and culture and health, military courts and municipal courts, independence of judiciary laws, among many others.
“We had to deal with a cascade of temporary laws during a limited period, which had a negative impact on our role of keeping an eye on government activities,” said Deputy Abdul Rahim Malhas (Amman Third District).
When Parliament convened on Dec. 1, 2005 legislators had 207 temporary laws on their agenda waiting to be deliberated.
Most of these laws were passed in the absence of Parliament during the tenure of Ali Abul Ragheb as prime minister.
The “unacceptable” number of these laws prompted deputies to call for an amendment to the Constitution on temporary legislation, to bring an end to “undermining of the Kingdom's legislative authority,” said Deputy Ali Abul Sukkar (Zarqa Second District).
The Constitution says the government has the right to pass temporary laws covering matters which require necessary measures and cannot be delayed. Deputies insist the Constitution was not respected.
To make a point, MPs rejected outright four temporary laws — customs, agriculture, income tax and state property temporary laws — citing “constitutional violation” by the government.
The Lower House refused to refer the four temporary laws to committees for study, therefore sending a message to the government that their patience had run out.
The straw which broke the camel's back was the fact that the four laws were passed only 10 days before the opening of Parliament's third ordinary session on Dec. 1 last year.
Sensing growing anger among deputies, Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit announced his government would issue no temporary laws.
Deputies also believe they could have passed more bills if their sessions had not been disrupted by internal differences about committee elections, the draft budget debate and the government's vote of confidence.
Deputy Mamdouh Abbadi (Amman Third District) offered a more positive evaluation.
“Although the recent session was not entirely legislative, having spent a long time on internal elections and other time-consuming duties, it was an excelling legislative session,” Abbadi told The Jordan Times.
If deputies continue at the same pace, no less than 100 bills will be passed in an anticipated extraordinary session later this summer, observers believe.
The MPs' success in passing so many laws was attributed to “their maturing” over the three sessions.
“Deputies gained experience during the first two sessions which led to their effectiveness in the last assembly,” Abbadi said.
Having to debate an overwhelming number of laws and attend to other legislative obligations prompted several deputies to call for a constitutional amendment to extend the duration of each session.
Deputies believe four months is insufficient time to fully carry out their responsibilities.
“The session should be extended to at least eight months in order to deal with the pile of temporary laws and scrutinise public sector activities,” said Deputy Adab Saud (Tafileh).
MPs also want the two weekly sessions, which were occasionally upped to three, to be increased to four per week.
During the last session, lawmakers sent the government several inquiries about the executive's performance and polices. These included the deportation of a Jordanian to the US, the situation of Jordanian prisoners in Israel, the Danish newspaper cartoon crisis and the import of a shipment of minced turkey from Israel despite an outbreak of bird flu in the Jewish state.
The House, however, failed to hold a session to follow up on any one of these issues.
Beside a heavy schedule, lack of quorum on a few occasions hindered the legislature's work.
Some 150 temporary laws still await deliberation in Parliament.