Jordan Times
Friday, August 5, 2005
'Anti-corruption draft law
does separate powers'
House committee members meet local, Arab experts to discuss draft law
By Mahmoud Al Abed
AMMAN — Deputies meeting with Jordanian and Arab jurists agreed that a
controversial anti-corruption draft law was constitutional in observing the
separation of powers.
Following lengthy discussions, the experts “reached a conviction that there are
no violations of the Constitution in the draft, particularly when it comes to
the separation of the three branches of power,” Rapporteur of the Lower House
Legal Committee Falah Qudah (Ajloun, First District) said.
Some deputies warned that the draft was unconstitutional since it brings
together representatives of the three branches of authority — the executive,
legislative and judiciary — in an umbrella anti-corruption commission.
During a meeting last month, the House decided to refer the draft to its Legal
Committee to determine whether this was constitutional or not.
The committee ever since held lengthy meetings and sought the advice of local
and Arab experts who underlined the need for such a law, but who nevertheless
thoroughly studied the controversial provision.
This provision, Qudah said, stipulates that the nomination process is vested in
a group of officials from the executive branch, the Parliament and the
judiciary.
Some deputies objected to such a mixture. MP Abdul Karim Dughmi (Mafraq), a
leading lawyer himself, said that the draft “is not linked to one branch of
government. In fact, it blends all three powers in one authority.”
Qudah said critics of the draft saw it as “trespassing over the judicial
branch's authorities.”
But the legal experts, who received copies of the draft before joining
Thursday's discussion and who included key jurists from Lebanon and Egypt, did
not think so.
They and the panel members agreed that the draft makes it clear that the
commission is “an independent body of investigation whose mandate is to prepare
cases and refer them to court.”
But that does not mean that the bill is perfect, Qudah told The Jordan Times. He
explained that the current version of the legislation still has flaws, but these
shortcomings can be easily addressed by the Legal Committee, which will meet
over the coming weeks to discuss the articles of the law one by one and make the
necessary amendments.
Head of the committee, MP Ghaleb Zu'bi (Balqa, First District), was quoted by
the Jordan News Agency, Petra, as saying there are “flaws in the legal structure
of the draft law, but the Lower House can address them.”
He added that the amendments would be ready for the full House to debate when
Parliament convenes early December for its ordinary session.
The discussion will also be attended by local jurists and representatives of the
Bar Association, Zu'bi said.
Petra also quoted Egyptian professor of constitutional law, Yahya Gamal, and
Lebanon's Constitutional Council Member Amin Banjati as saying that the panel
“must discuss every article in the law to remove any contradictions with the
Constitution.”
Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs Hisham Tal, who attended the
meeting, argued that the bill was totally constitutional as far as the
government is concerned, the agency reported.
The drafting of the bill came upon directives by His Majesty King Abdullah. The
King in June asked Prime Minister Adnan Badran to form an independent commission
to combat corruption and stamp out “wasta” amid accelerated measures to speed up
reform.
The draft is intended to fulfil what the King stated as a “clear strategy” to
fight corruption and prosecute its perpetrators. It was referred to the House
with an urgency status.