Ammon News - The Lower House Legal Committee, headed by MP Dr. Muhammad Hilalat, on Wednesday met CEO of Lawyers Without Borders (LWB), Dr. Saddam Abu Azzam, and his accompanying delegation.

The lawmaker said the LWB presented its observations and suggestions on legislation related to associations and civil society institutions in Jordan, stressing that the government has not sent any amendments to the associations law, nor a new bill so far.

Hilalat also noted the House will deal with the an associations draft law if the government sends, or requests an amendment to the current law, taking into consideration the public interest in this regard.

The House Legal Committee has launched dialogues on all laws referred to Parliament and listened to various opinions from experts, specialists and stakeholders, he said, adding that the panel will implement the same procedure if it receives an associations bill.

Abu Azzam, for his part, said the LWB has surveyed many opinions and conducted multiple studies, which indicated many legislative challenges facing associations and civil society institutions, including multiplicity of references and problems related to licenses.

Jordan's civil society sector constitutes a facade at international forums, provide a 7% contribution of the GDP, and has so far created 150,000 job opportunities, according to Abu Azzam.

Reviewing the challenges and obstacles facing the work of Jordan's associations and civil society institutions, he called for taking into account the LWB observations after sending the related draft law to Parliament.

The LWB, he noted, is looking forward to concluding a consensus-based law that achieves the goal that serves the public interest related to the associations sector.