Position paper recommends alternatives for debt imprisonment 

AMMAN — The Jordan Strategy Forum (JSF) recently issued a position paper highlighting the articles of Order No. 28 on debt imprisonment, while citing a set of recommendations for alternative measures. 

Due to economic pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the government issued Defence Order No. 28 in March 2021, which postponed the implementation of decisions related to debtors’ imprisonment under Article 22 of the Jordan Execution Law until the end of the year 2021, according to the paper. 

The said order stipulated that if the adjudged sum doesn’t exceed JD100,000, a travel ban is imposed on the debtor until the sum is paid off, the paper stated. 

Since then, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Bisher Khasawneh issued multiple extensions for Defence Order No. 28, the latest of which will last until April 30, the report added.  

The prime minister also amended the provisions of the defence order by lowering the maximum threshold for the imprisonment of debt defaulters to JD20,000 instead of JD100,000, the paper continued. 

These measures “sparked controversy” amongst Jordanians, dividing the public into supporters and opponents of debt imprisonment, the paper stated, noting that Article 11 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) states that “No one shall be imprisoned merely on the ground of inability to fulfil a contractual obligation”. 

“Such a measure isn’t exercised in most countries because it restricts people’s freedom and prevents them from working to meet their obligations,” the paper noted. 

The paper also cited the Financial Inclusion Diagnostic Study in Jordan 2022, issued by the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), showing that the overall rate of borrowing in Jordan during the year 2022 is considered “rather high”. 

According to the CBJ, 14.4 per cent of adults borrowed from formal sources, while 39.3 per cent borrowed informally in 2022.

The diagnostic study also showed that in 2017, 13.3 per cent of Jordanians borrowed from informal sources, while the rate for formal borrowing stood at 9.9 per cent. 

Additionally, the paper stated that CBJ figures indicate that the value of issued cheques in 2022 increased to roughly JD40.8 billion, compared with JD37.6 billion in 2022. 

It added that the value of bounced cheques, or cheques denied due to insufficient balance, decreased to roughly JD820 million in 2022, compared with JD830 million in 2021. 

Moreover, the paper referenced a study issued by the Economic and Social Council, which shows that the number of individuals wanted for failure to repay debt “rose tenfold in only four years, from 4,352 in 2015 to 43,624 in 2019”. 

The paper stated that according to the Prime Ministry, a total of 157,367 individuals are wanted in civil debt cases is, including 137,715 people whose debt measures less than JD20,000. 

The latest amendment to the aforementioned defence order, “which was extended four times”, removed protection from imprisonment for 19,652 persons whose debts exceed JD20,000, the report added.

A total of 30,669 people are wanted for issuing bounced cheques, 13,151 of whom will no longer be protected from imprisonment as the value of their issued cheques exceeds JD20,000, it said. 

The paper also outlined a set of recommendations for imprisonment, which aim to guarantee loaners’ financial rights while also protecting debtors’ human right not be imprisoned due to failure to meet a financial obligation. 

These include intensifying awareness-raising activities and strengthening protective measures to prevent debt default by working with the relevant entities to review credit rating mechanisms for both individuals and companies through, for example, a digital application. 

The JSF, founded in 2012, is an economic think-tank that aims to “offer an integrated space for evidence-based debate and research”, according to the forum’s website.