Senate approves several bills, returns amended Tourism Law to House

AMMAN — The Senate on Thursday endorsed several draft laws and returned the draft amendments of the Tourism Law to the Lower House after making some changes, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The Upper Chamber endorsed the 2017 consumer protection draft law as referred from the Lower House.

The Senate also agreed on the Lower House’s decision to amend the Crown Prince Foundation (CPF) Law, so as to enable the CPF to establish and own a non-profit technical university.

In addition, the Upper House endorsed the draft law on national documents, the amending law of the Higher Health Council and the draft law of environment protection.

The Senate returned to the Lower House draft amendments of the 2016 Tourism Law, after adding some changes that grant legal personality to commissions that administer tourist attractions “of a special nature”, and that allow such commissions to accept donations and gifts after the Cabinet’s approval.

The Lower House had previously refused such suggestions.

The Upper Chamber also discussed five questions presented to the government by senators, with Senator Fida Hmoud raising the issue of Jordanian women who are under administrative detention.

The government reply showed that there were 4,559 women under administrative detention between 2014 and mid-February, with an average of 12 days of detention and a monthly cost of JD700 for each inmate, Petra reported.

Any woman whose life is in danger for reasons related to the so-called “family honour”, if the authorities know about her, is placed in a women’s correctional facility by the administrative governor in what is termed “protective custody”. 

Also during Thursday’s session, Senate President Faisal Fayez expressed the Chamber’s rejection of the “provoking law” that the Israeli Knesset endorsed on Wednesday, which bans mosques to call to prayer over loudspeakers in Jerusalem.