Jordan - Criminal

Criminal (2003-Present)

ISDLS and the Jordanian Ministry of Justice began their collaboration on the investigation and implementation of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods in 1994. Over the past decade the Ministry has supported a series of ISDLS training workshops, conferences and follow-up evaluations which have addressed ADR mechanisms in the areas of civil, and more recently, criminal law. In 2002 the Jordanian Legislature revised laws governing case management and civil procedure which have since October 2003 begun to address overloading of the Jordanian legal system in Amman. All indications point toward a growing acceptance of ADR methods promoted by ISDLS within the legal communities as a result of the burgeoning success in Amman. The Ministry has also enacted The Mediation Law for Civil Disputes Resolution of the year 2003, which mandates the creation of a civil justice Mediation Department. The Department will begin operation in the near future.

In 2003 delegates from Jordan attended the ISDLS Middle East Rule of Law (MEROL) Conference in Istanbul, Turkey. The Conference, which was attended by representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Oman, France and the US, sought to present to countries in the region to innovations and challenges of legal development, to examine successful reform initiatives in Egypt and Jordan in the areas of civil and/or criminal justice, and to consider the applicability of the Egyptian and Jordanian initiatives in other MEROL countries. The successes in civil justice reform and the exposure to the Egyptian successes in the area of criminal justice reform at the conference prompted LSG leader Mr. Mohammad Amin Mufadi Kharabsheh to propose that an analogous project be conducted with ISDLS in the area of criminal justice. The Ministry of Justice approved this request and in July 2004 the Jordanian Criminal Justice Reform Initiative began when ISDLS representatives traveled to Jordan to assess the functioning of the criminal justice processes in Jordan.

In September 2004 four members of the Jordanian Court of Cassation and two highly respected defense attorneys worked in Washington D.C.; San Diego, CA; and San Francisco, CA to learn about alternatives to criminal trial and public defender systems in the United States. The LSG concluded with an assessment of the week’s meetings with Stephen Mayo, Executive Director of ISDLS at his headquarters in San Francisco. The LSG participants and ISDLS agreed that Jordan will be able to adopt some methods of ADR and agreed to further assess probation, public defender programs, diversion, rehabilitation of the criminally accused and Speedy Trial legislation at a conference with the Minister of Justice in 2005. Preparations for this conference are currently underway.