His Majesty King Abdullah II on Sunday received the recommendations of the Royal Committee on Constitutional Review, which was formed in April under the King’s directives and wrapped up its work on Wednesday.
Upon receiving the committee’s proposals at Raghadan Palace, King Abdullah addressed Royal family members, heads and members of the legislative, executive and judicial authorities along with senior officials, politicians, diplomats and media personnel about the significance of the recommendations.
The King opened his remarks with a tribute to the father of Jordan’s modern Constitution of 1952, the late King Talal bin Abdullah, grandfather of the reigning King Abdullah II. The Constitution of 1952 was celebrated almost 60 years ago as among the most progressive constitutions in the Arab world.
King Abdullah said that the review committee’s recommendations are “solid proof of Jordan's ability to revitalise itself and its legislation and approach the future with a vision of social and political reform, the foundation of which is wider public participation, the separation between the branches of government and a clear definition of the responsibilities of each of these branches”.
He commended the “historic constitutional revisions and amendments” as a reflection of “the high level of political and legal maturity among Jordanians who are readying for the centennial of their state; a state that was built on the values of freedom, unity and equality.”
The King said the suggested amendments should maintain and enhance the balance among the powers through effective constitutional mechanisms adding that one of the most significant proposals is the establishment of a constitutional court. He also spoke of the potential of the proposals to reform the relationship between governments and Parliament by tying the dissolution of the Lower House to the resignation of the government. The proposals also suggest limiting the government’s power to issue temporary laws to times of war and natural catastrophes and in cases of financial expenditures that cannot be postponed. More importantly, an independent national commission has been proposed to oversee parliamentary elections, while the committee has recommended that the judiciary be the sole authority to study electoral contestations and the trial of ministers.
To reinforce the role of youth in public and parliamentary life, the committee has proposed lowering the minimum age of candidacy for the Lower House to any citizen of 25 years of age. Liberties were established in the Constitution, he said, and hoped that these would institutionalise citizen activism and effective public participation in the legislative process as well as the formation of governments. He added that “we need to exercise this participation within the framework of an institutionalised political process that respects the rotation of power through parliamentary governments and a modern election process in which political parties compete on the basis of national platforms.” However, while all these efforts were made to consolidate balance and equity between the authorities, it is conditional on people's willingness to join political parties that express themselves and their policies at the ballot box, King Abdullah described these as “the fundamentals of parliamentary democracies”.
The King said amendments to the Constitution should proceed in accordance with the appropriate constitutional processes and within a timeframe that does not exceed one month in order for the roadmap of political reform to be achieved by no later than the fourth quarter of this year. The conclusion of constitutional amendments, the King said, would give the legislative branch the ability to proceed with the review and adoption of political legislation, namely the political parties and election laws.
When these laws are endorsed, along with the municipalities and the teachers' association laws, Jordan would have accomplished most of the legislative infrastructure required for an institutional reform process that ensures an engagement of the grassroots, political parties and unions, Parliament and government that lives up to national ambitions and expectations.
The review of the Constitution’s provisions and some amendments thereto, the King concluded, answers Jordanians’ expressed aspirations and will be for the good of present and future generations. He said it was imperative that all powers and institutions, whether partisan, unionist or popular, engage in the reform process in order to translate programmes into action.