US embassy cable - 02AMMAN3273

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003273 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2012 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, ECON, EAID, JO 
SUBJECT: INTERIM LAWMAKING WRAPS UP AS LIKELIHOOD OF 
ELECTIONS INCREASES 
 
REF: AMMAN 2529 
 
Classified By: EDWARD W. GNEHM FOR REASON 1.5(B) AND (D) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (C) Jordan's Constitution allows the Cabinet to pass 
provisional laws when Parliament is not in session, so long 
as the laws are sufficiently "necessary."  The GOJ has 
promulgated some ninety-nine provisional laws in the year 
since Jordan's Parliament was dissolved on June 16, 2001. 
But provisional lawmaking apparently will soon cease. 
Abatement in regional tensions over the past several weeks 
has encouraged the view among Embassy contacts that a date 
for elections reinstating Jordan's Parliament will be 
announced in July, with elections following as early as 
September.  Given this possibility, Prime Ministry officials 
set an internal end-of-June deadline for preparing twelve 
more laws for Cabinet ratification.  The deadline aims at 
avoiding the appearance of an executive usurpation of 
legislative power in anticipation of a new Parliament, 
although some critics accuse the GOJ of having already 
overstepped its legal bounds in the course of its lawmaking 
activities over the last year.  End summary. 
 
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JORDAN'S LAW OF LAWMAKING 
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2. (U) Legislation normally originates with ministries 
interested in passing it.  An interested ministry forwards 
draft legislation to the Council of Ministers (equivalent of 
the Cabinet in the U.S.) for initial discussion.  The Council 
of Ministers revises legislation as appropriate and forwards 
it to the Legislative Office of the Prime Ministry, which has 
primary responsibility for putting draft laws into final 
form.  The Legislative Office studies proposed legislation, 
reviews it for conflicts with other laws, makes further 
revisions, and sends it back to the Council of Ministers for 
approval.  The Prime Minister refers legislation approved by 
the Council of Ministers to the Chamber of Deputies, which 
has the power to accept, amend, or reject it, and the Chamber 
of Deputies forwards the legislation to the Senate. 
Legislation passed by both houses of Parliament goes to the 
King, who has the prerogative to ratify and promulgate it 
through publication in the Official Gazette. 
 
3. (C) An abbreviated lawmaking process applies when all or 
part of the National Assembly is dissolved, as it now is. 
Legislation still passes through various drafting stages at 
the originating ministry, the Council of Ministers, and the 
Legislative Office of the Prime Ministry.  But the Council of 
Ministers can issue provisional laws with the King's approval 
in the absence of a functioning parliament, so long as they 
are limited to "matters which require necessary measures 
which admit of no delay or which necessitate expenditures 
incapable of postponement."  Provisional laws have the same 
force as regularly enacted laws.  However, once back in 
session, the National Assembly can approve, amend, or reject 
laws promulgated in its absence.  Embassy contacts predict 
Parliament will only amend a handful of the laws enacted 
during the period of its dissolution.  One notable exception 
will likely be the July 2001 provisional law regulating the 
way parliamentarians themselves are elected.  Sources say 
this law will be scrutinized very closely. 
 
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LAWMAKING SANS PARLIAMENT DURING THE PAST YEAR 
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4. (C) In the year since Parliament was dissolved, the GOJ 
has promulgated ninety-nine provisional laws covering a wide 
range of topics (e.g., inter alia, education, labor, state 
security, traffic).  Several weeks ago, we reported that 
regional tensions were casting doubt on the likelihood that 
parliamentary elections would be held this fall (reftel), and 
it appeared that the GOJ might continue enacting provisional 
legislation in the absence of Parliament.  But tensions have 
decreased since our last report, and the announcement of 
impending elections on the West Bank has placed added 
pressure on the GOJ to hold elections.  There is now a 
consensus among Embassy contacts that a date for elections 
will be announced in July.  One source at the Prime Ministry 
has said, more specifically, that a date for holding 
elections will be announced during the first ten days of 
July.  Contacts vary in their predictions as to exactly when 
elections will go forward; some say elections will be held as 
early as September while others say they will take place 
later on in the year. 
 
5. (C) Given the likelihood that a date for Parliamentary 
elections will be annouced soon, the Prime Ministry has set 
an end-of-June deadline by which laws must be prepared for 
ratification, or be pushed off for action by the new 
Parliament.  Jordan's Constitution would permit promulgation 
of provisional laws after an elections announcement, right up 
until the time when a new Parliament is constituted. 
However, Minister of Trade and Industry Salah Bashir says 
government officials are anxious to avoid the unseemly optics 
that would be associated with an executive effort to 
promulgate laws after elections are announced. 
 
6. (C) Legislative Office officials are optimistic that their 
internal deadline permits enough time to enact a final set of 
twelve provisional laws in advance of an announcement 
concerning elections.  The Office is hurriedly working on 
this final group of laws.  The Legislative Office has tabled 
other laws now caught in the process of being drafted; work 
on these laws will resume once a new Parliament is in 
session. 
 
7. (C) In terms of raw numbers, GOJ lawmaking activities 
during the past year represent only a modest increase over 
the number of laws enacted during the last year Parliament 
was in session.  Moreover, the passage of new laws has 
continued at a fairly even pace over the past year.  Contacts 
within the GOJ justify the government's lawmaking activities 
over the past year on grounds that the Constitution permits 
enactment of laws necessary to the normal functioning of 
government, even in the absence of Parliament. 
 
8. (C) But others claim the GOJ has taken advantage of 
Parliament's absence to push through major and even 
controversial economic reform laws aimed at promoting foreign 
and local investment.  These laws include a 
telecommunications restructuring law, a bankruptcy law, a new 
companies law, a revised penal law criminalizing support for 
terrorism, and revised labor and intellectual property rights 
laws.  In addition, the final group of twelve laws now being 
vetted includes other pieces of important economic 
legislation, such as a revised securities law, a revised 
properties law, and a law allowing the creation of credit 
bureaus. 
 
9. (C) Several former parliamentarians also criticize the 
regime more broadly, for promulgating scores of laws without 
Parliament.  They view the Constitutional power to enact 
legislation without Parliament as limited and extraordinary, 
and argue that it should be used very sparingly and only when 
necessary to avoid crisis.  These same contacts rail against 
the decision to dissolve Parliament a year ago, and assert 
that enacting laws absent Parliament undermines respect for 
the rule of law and the legitimacy of laws so enacted. 
 
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COMMENT 
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10. (C) The modest increase in the number of laws promulgated 
during the past year does not in itself suggest an 
indiscriminate rush to circumvent Parliament by passing laws 
in its absence.  Moreover, a perceived need to carry on the 
regular functions of government during a busy period when no 
Parliament has been sitting could explain the passage of many 
laws promulgated during the last year.  On the other hand, 
some key legal changes wrought over the past year would have 
been controversial and could have been significantly delayed 
if Parliament's approval had been required. 
Gnehm