Decentralisation bill referred to joint House panel after fears of unconstitutionality

AMMAN — The Lower House on Sunday referred the draft decentralisation law to a joint panel made up of its legal and administrative committees for examination.

Upon the preliminary reading of the law, some deputies raised concerns that the bill may contain a constitutional violation, mainly the provision stipulating the establishment of legislative and executive bodies in each governorate.

Some MPs argued that the House is constitutionally unauthorised to interfere in a matter solely of executive nature, citing Article 120 of the Constitution. 

Article 120 reads: “The administrative divisions of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the establishment of the government departments, their classification, designations, the plan of operations and the manner of the appointment of civil servants, their dismissal, their discipline, supervision and the limits of their competence and powers shall be determined by regulations issued by the Council of Ministers with the approval of the King.” 

Upon a recommendation from MP Abdul Karim Dughmi (Mafraq, 1st District), the House decided to ask the Constitutional Court for an interpretation of the said article.

Making elections the basis of the democratisation process as well as enhancing public participation in the decision-making process are among the major validating reasons outlined in the government’s version of the draft decentralisation law.

Also during the session, Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh said he will give urgency status to a memorandum on the print media crisis to be placed on the agenda of Tuesday’s session.

In the memo, 52 MPs called on the government to adopt a set of measures to help ease newspapers’ economic woes.

Briefing MPs on His Majesty King Abdullah’s recent EU tour, Tarawneh said the Monarch touched on the heart of the region’s woes and challenges in his comprehensive speech at the European Parliament.

The speaker, who was with the Jordanian delegation accompanying the King to Strasbourg, also said that His Majesty’s speech outlined the international community’s responsibilities in the war against radicalism and terrorism.