Law of Jordan
The Law of Jordan is influenced by
Historical background
Jordanian law is influenced by Ottoman law. Until 1918, the
Tribes were very important in Jordan and the tribes had varied legal traditions. During the Tanzimat reforms of the Ottoman legal system, the Ottoman Mecelle was introduced to Jordan.[1]
The 1917 Ottoman Family Code forms the basis of modern Jordanian personal status laws.[1]
Modern era
The first Constitution of Jordan was adopted in 1948. This started the process of creating a national legal system in the Post-Ottoman period. Both the 1948 and 1952 constitutions of Jordan affirm that Islam is the state religion.[3] The first Jordanian Law of Family Rights was enacted in 1947; it was replaced by the Law of Family Rights 1951. In 1952 the Jordanian Law of Personal Status was enacted.[3] The first modern Shari'a courts were established in Jordan in 1951. These courts are based on the Hanafi school, but Jordanian laws about women draw on Maliki law.[1]
Under the 1952 Constitution shari'a courts have exclusive jurisdiction over matters regarding the "personal status" of Muslims, including marriage, divorce, guardianship and inheritance. Shari'a courts also exercise jurisdiction over Muslim religious endowments (call
Court system
Religious courts
Shari'a courts only have jurisdiction over personal matters, including areas of family law like marriage or divorce, child custody, adoption, and inheritance matters. Islamic religious courts only have jurisdiction over Muslims. Christians have separate religious councils for most matters. Inheritance laws are a special case which are administered through the religious courts of the family's religion, but governed by Shari'a principles in all cases.[4]
The shari'a court system has both
Criminal law
Jordanian criminal law is based on the Ottoman Law of 1858, which in turn is based upon the French Penal Code of 1810. In 1960 Jordan issued Criminal Law no. 16. This law was strongly influenced by the Lebanese Criminal Law of 1943, which borrowed provisions from the French Penal Code regarding penalties for crimes committed against women (art 562).[5]
After amendments were passed to article 98 of the penal code in 2017, perpetrators of
Personal Status law
The Personal Status law is the
The legal age of marriage has been increased to 18, but at the chief justice's discretion this may be lowered to 15. All
The Personal Status law does not allow women to have guardianship over children, though this would be allowed under Islamic legal principles. In Jordan, only fathers may be the guardian or welaya. A "guardian" is a person appointed under law to act on behalf of a minor or other person who does not have full legal capacity. Any female dependents under 40, who have not been previously married, are subject to lose their rights to financial maintenance if they "rebel" against their guardian.[7]
Influence in the Occupied Palestinian territories
Israeli occupation forces accepted that the West Bank would be governed under the law that was in effect before June 5, 1967 with the condition that "security enactments take precedence over all law, even if they do not explicitly repeal it."[8] Although passed after 1967, the Jordanian Law of Personal Status (JLPS) of 1976 is applied by West Bank courts,[9]
The Shari'a courts of the West Bank and the Jordanian-administered Shari'a court in East Jerusalem are governed under Jordanian law, especially the Law of Shar'i Procedure of 1959. Included within the Shari'a courts
See also
- Jerusalem Islamic Waqf
Notes
- ^ a b c d Haddad & Stowasser 2004, p. 222.
- ^ a b c Patai 2015, p. 228.
- ^ a b UNICEF 2007, p. 180.
- ^ "Overview of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Legal System and Research - GlobaLex". Retrieved 2017-12-02.
- ^ Joseph 2000, p. 175.
- ^ "Jordan". Human Rights Watch. 1 January 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ a b c Nazir & Tomppert 2005, p. 111.
- ^ Mehozay 2016, p. 88.
- ^ a b Welchman 2004, p. 101.
References
- Haddad, Yvonne Yazbeck; Stowasser, Barbara Freyer (2004). Islamic Law and the Challenges of Modernity. Rowman Altamira. ISBN 978-0-7591-0671-0.
- Joseph, Suad (2000). Gender and Citizenship in the Middle East. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-2865-1.
- Nazir, Sameena; Tomppert, Leigh (2005). Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa: Citizenship and Justice. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7425-4992-0.
- Mehozay, Yoav (2016-10-20). Between the Rule of Law and States of Emergency: The Fluid Jurisprudence of the Israeli Regime. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-6340-7.
- Patai, Raphael (2015-12-08). Kingdom of Jordan. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-7799-7.
- Welchman, Lynn (2004). Women's Rights and Islamic Family Law: Perspectives on Reform. Zed Books. ISBN 978-1-84277-095-5.
- UNICEF (2007). Protecting the World's Children: Impact of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Diverse Legal Systems. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-46503-8.