Arab Laws Reform

Place: National Center for Human Rights (NCHR), Amman Jordan

Dr. Ali Al-Dabbas, Assistant Commissioner of NCHR opened the meeting with the presence of around 25 participants representing active political parties in Jordan. After introducing the center, the meeting’s importance in regard to the Declaration of the Bases of Democratic Practice for Political Parties and Movements and its adoption by the various parties was addressed.

The history of the code produced by the project over the past two years was clarified certifying that the code is created by Arab experts from Syria and Lebanon and agreed upon in a conference in Cairo late 2008.

The preamble of the code was accepted as is. A respectful and tolerant round of discussion was opened and the discourse was highly constructive. The Islamic Action Front (IAF), the Communist Party, and the Jordani an Baath Party representatives were the leading figures in the discussions and legal clarifications. Their wording and re-wording of most clauses were received well by all present.

Each article of the code was read by Dr. Ali Al-Dabbas and discussed by the participants. There were only minor changes in the document represented mainly in replacing phrase words such as “respect of” and “adhere to” in the diverse elements of good governance included in the code with the word “ensure”. The amended wording added a tone of responsibility to the code of conduct and was agreed upon by all those present.

The code, in its final form was accepted and adopted by all seven parties present. Yet there is a number of parties who are interested in the coed as well as per NCHR. Dr. Ali Dabbas has received numerous phone calls from parties inquiring about the code and expressed the possible adoption of it.