Senate Returns Controversial Anti-Corruption Law, Dodging Deliberations Again


11-12-2011 12:00 AM

Ammon News - By Wael Jaraysheh

AMMONNEWS - The Senate on Thursday returned the 2011 draft Anti-Corruption Law, which was approved by the Lower House of Parliament last September, to the senate's Legal Affairs Committee.

During Thursday parliamentary session, a number of senators stated that the council should reconsider the previous committee's decisions after a new Senate council and new committees have been formed.

A number of Senators stressed that the law should be reviewed carefully, especially that it contains the controversial Article 23, which stipulates hefty fines on anyone who accuses another of corruption without providing proof.

10 out of the 12 Senators in the legal committee were replaced since the draft law was last considered, Senator Abdul Ra'ouf Rawabdeh said, and therefore the opinions of the last committee ought to be reconsidered in light of the new legal committee's perspective.

The Senate voted to return the draft law to the new legal committee, headed by Senator Hisham Tal.

Last September, 56 deputies of the Lower House of Parliament voted in favor of passing the law, out of a total of 96, after the previous government of Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit retracted the draft law and amended Article 23 to raise the fines from 5-10 thousand dinars, to fines of no less than JD 30,000 and no more than Jd 60,000 for every person or party that publicly or explicitly attaches charges of corruption to others without lawful facts with the purpose of extortion, slander, or defamation and character assassination.

After the House endorsed the law, it was referred to the Senate, which was scheduled to vote on the draft law on September 29th during the last day of the extraordinary session, but the Senate managed to dodge the deliberation by canceling the adjourning the session.

The controversial Article 23 of the draft Anti-Corruption law stirred the Jordan Press Association (JPA) Council to submit their resignation to the syndicate's general assembly to be effective if Article 23 of the Anti-Corruption law is officially endorsed.

JPA President Tareq Momani and head of the Freedoms Committee Jihad Abu Baidar wagered their resignation with the endorsement of the 2011 Anti-Corruption Law without the removal of the controversial Article 23, which has been viewed as a setback to press freedom and efforts to expose and combat corruption.

JPA's officials again this week threatened to resign if the Senate passes the controversial article.







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