Jordan Times
Thursday, September 20, 2007
US provides $14 million for
judicial sector
By Hani Hazaimeh
AMMAN - The US will provide a $14 million grant to help the government foster
its political development efforts and improve the judicial sector.
Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Suhair Al-Ali signed the
grant agreement with American Ambassador David Hale and USAID Director Jay Knott
at the Judicial Institute of Jordan (JIJ) on Wednesday.
The grant is part of the overall US assistance package to the Kingdom for the
fiscal year 2007, which amounts to $255.3 million in economic assistance and
$276.8 million in security-related assistance.
Al-Ali said the agreement will not be limited to the judicial sector, but also
be utilised in developing the media sector as well as training individuals and
NGOs that focus on the empowerment of women in the Kingdom.
Hale said the grants would help Jordan develop long-term policies to strengthen
local governance, the judicial sector, independent media and an engaged civil
society.
“All who work on development in Jordan are impressed by Jordan’s home-grown
efforts and commitment to further develop the country,” a US embassy statement
quoted Hale as saying.
USAID, in cooperation with the JIJ, has provided 1,700 advanced training
opportunities for judges in the past year.
Hale added that a strong and independent judicial sector will contribute to
economic and political development by underpinning a democratic, market-based
society founded on the rule of law.
During a meeting with The Jordan Times staff yesterday, Minister of Justice
Sharif Zu’bi said around JD2.5 million of the grant will be allocated for
enhancing the judicial training system at the JIJ as well as upgrading judicial
training.
Currently there are 700 judges in the Kingdom, with an additional 140 Shariah
judges. This constitutes 15 judges per 100,000 persons which, according to the
minister, is double the international standards.
Starting this year, the ministry raised the minimum requirements for studying
law at local universities from 55 to 70 per cent, he added.
He noted that the rate of lawsuits in the Kingdom stands at about 6,500 per day
and that around 222,000 cases have been submitted to the courts between January
and July of this year alone.