AMMAN — Legislators were engaged on Monday in a specialised workshop on alternative sanctions and mechanisms to improve the Kingdom’s criminal justice system.
In cooperation with the British ministry of justice and the EU, the Ministry of Justice organised a specialised workshop for members of the Lower House and Senate public freedoms and legal committees on the future introduction of alternative punishments into Jordan’s judicial system.
Inaugurating the workshop, Justice Minister Bassam Talhouni said the ministry is currently working on implementing an EU-funded development programme for the Kingdom’s criminal justice system as part of its compliance with principles of human rights and keenness on coping with all legislative and administrative developments.
Talhouni said the project entails the development of an institutionalised community sanctions system based on the modern theory of punishment, which focuses on rehabilitating inmates and changing their behaviours to be able to assimilate actively and positively within their communities.
Jordan is determined to improve a set of alternative punishments to replace conventional sentences all in line with the rehabilitation of inmates’ behaviours, the minister added.
As a legal term, “alternative sanctions” refers to the utilisation of non-conventional sentences in lieu of imprisonment and fines, according to web sources.
Examples of alternative sanctions — also referred to as “community sanctions” – include community service, in-home detention, day reporting, drug treatment and victim/offender reconciliation programme.
EU project team leader Ian Lankshear stressed the importance of revisiting the relevant laws to lay down the legal basis for the introduction of alternative sanctions into Jordan’s judicial system.
Achieving justice in the criminal system is a pressing demand for the wider public with the new transformations in the Arab world, he noted.
During the workshop, titled “The Role of the Legislature in Developing Community Sanctions and the Legal Aid System”, deputies and senators underlined the need for the implementation of alternative sanctions and the utilisation of international expertise in the field in line with Jordanian culture.
Others argued that the community sanctions system is not something “unheard of” in Arab and Islamic law, citing as an example when Muslims at the time of Prophet Mohammad allowed each prisoner they took in the Battle of Badr to teach 10 Muslims to read and write to gain their freedom.
