Talhouni and EU Ambassador discuss justice sector reforms
Justice Minister Dr. Bassam Talhouni met on Tuesday, the EU's ambassador to Jordan Andrea Matteo Fontana in the presence of a number of strategic partners and stakeholders from civil society institutions in the "policy dialogue session" about keeping pace with changes and developments and reforms that have been on the justice sector, to listen to partners and their suggestions, and discuss the terms of the support reforms to the justice sector funded through the budget of the European Union Convention, in line with the democracy and the rule of law and protection of human rights to strengthen credibility and confidence in the principles of society.
Talhouni said that the ministry adopts a participatory approach with the authorities and relevant institutions in the donor countries and with the European Union to cover expenses within the ministry's plans and priorities, and the provision of specialized training programs, technical and technological equipment and software, within the ministry's projects to support the judicial sector needed to support the sector's budget in Jordan financed criteria are met from the European Union.
Talhouni also spoke about the government's pursuit of hard work and relentless reform at all levels, including the justice sector and justice through amendments made to the Jordanian constitution since 2011, which confirmed in its entirety the independence of the judiciary as well as justice and equality among all segments of society
He presented the most significant developments on the ministry level where they were preparing the ministry's strategy for the years 2014 -2016, which confirmed that the ministry is competent and supportive institution for the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law, and complement national efforts, where he sought to develop legislation in line with local and international changes, which aims to reduce the duration of the litigation, and shortcut procedures and achieve a prompt justice and the provision of services to the fullest litigants and the courts of Auditors, in addition to the adoption of a notary public licensed 2014 system.
He pointed out that work is currently underway on a revised draft of a set of laws such as the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code and the Civil Procedure Law and the Law of the Magistrates Courts and the law of force and the law of the Notary Law on Mediation and Arbitration Act.
Talhouni pointed out that it was the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Construction and the courts in terms of updated organizational structure of the Ministry and the Judicial Institute, it has also been the introduction of new sections to keep up with developments and aspirations of the future, such as the Department of Legal Assistance and the Department of prevention of human trafficking, and the Department of Community sanctions and inspection department, and follow-up of reform and rehabilitation centers, besides the family section of the originally in human rights and family Affairs Directorate.
As has been the establishment of the Directorate of courts Affairs and the Directorate of the notary in the ministry, in addition to the signing of an agreement between the European Union project and Talal Abu-Ghazaleh training for the purpose of staff training in accordance with the training program takes into account the diverse functional sites, with regard to the training of judges, the Judicial Institute to prepare continuous training plan annually for the purpose of build their capacities in all areas.
Talhouni showed that the ministry is seeking to create a paperless environment by focusing on the electronic archiving and update on the balance of the system and the provision of electronic services to facilitate the references and enable it to get the service as soon as the roads and less costs, it was also held bilateral agreement with partners such as public security and the Bar Association to exchange data and information.
He praised the role of the EU in support of the Ministry of Justice and the judiciary and the enforcement of its projects to complement national efforts and strengthen the trust of the community and contribute to the creation of a fair and transparent judicial environment, and policy and legislative frameworks for modern advancement of the process of litigation and support legal efficiently.
In turn, EU Ambassador said to the adoption of the independence of the judiciary and the constitutional law amendment in 2011, and encouraged further reforms on the independence of the special courts.
He highlighted the EU's support for reforms within the justice sector through a number of activities such as support for the Judicial Institute to be able to design and deliver specialized training programs to improve judges' skills in the implementation of international standards of human rights treaties, recommending a focus on women's access to private regarding violence justice family.
The ambassador also praised the efforts made in the field of legislative reforms for the justice sector, including the Penal Code and the project of Criminal Procedure, especially articles on alternatives to pre-trial detention and community sanctions.
In this context, he urged the need to communicate and promote dialogue with the various civil and official institutions to create the right environment for the effective implementation of these materials, as well as to make more efforts to implement UPR recommendations issued by the United Nations body.
The Ambassador stressed the attention of the European Union in supporting activities aimed at strengthening the relationship between civil society organizations and other institutions of the justice sector, noting that this meeting is a step towards strengthening the policy dialogue for concerted efforts to achieve administrated justice and effective and close to the citizens' efforts.
He also noted the need to strengthen legislation on women's rights in line with Jordan's international obligations in this area, focusing on the need to stimulate the official bodies and civil society organizations efforts to promote women's right to protection and the right to easy access to justice.