A few days back,
both houses of Parliament approved a new, deformed, and paralyzed
Competition Law. The steps and time it took to finally trash such a vital piece of
legislation (actually the most important law in any developing country) should
be made into a course on how not to do politics. The outcome of the exercise is
excruciatingly painful and will become a source of embarrassment for years to
come.
اضافة اعلان
The push for a
competition law in Jordan began in 1996, first through the persistence of the
World Bank, and later as a condition from the World Trade Organization and the
Jordan-EU Association Agreement. The process was delayed time and again due to
the frequent reshuffles and changes of ministerial cabinets and the ignorance
of some high-ranking officials about competition, antitrust, anti-monopoly
legislation. The private sector too was against the creation of the law, which
was understandable as the law attacked abuse of monopoly power and collusion.
It took time to educate some of those in charge (including ministers, judges,
lawyers, and representatives of chambers and unions) about the merits of such a
law and the need to introduce it.
The law met the highest standards and best practices for countries like the US and EU nations, except for one flaw… it was weakened by the fact that its implementation was handed to the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Supply
Top-notch
legislation
Finally, the law
was born, but as an emergency, temporary law, in 2002 when Parliament was not
in session. It was later confirmed as a permanent law in 2004. Interestingly,
Jordan was the fourth Arab country, I believe, to introduce such a law. Arab
nations were and still are reluctant latecomers to antitrust legislation.
At the time, the
law met the highest standards and best practices for countries like the US and
EU nations, except for one flaw. In most Arab countries, including Jordan, when
the law was finally introduced, it was weakened by the fact that its
implementation was handed to the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Supply,
instead of a fully empowered designated department or commission. Therefore, in
Jordan, as in other countries in the region, it was up to the minister, not the
directorate, to implement the vital mission of the law, which was to protect
competition within the economy. The Jordan National Agenda, released in 2005,
noted this weakness and recommended a study into remedying it by 2008. However,
nothing happened. At any rate, Jordan finally had a
competition law.
Certain articles focused on consumer protection legislation were added to the competition law. The articles stood out as odd — they simply did not belong in such a law.
Odd additions
In 2011, to
appease certain groups and avoid unnecessary conflict in a year of possible
runaway agitation as the Arab Spring spread, certain articles focused on
consumer protection legislation were added to
the competition law. The articles
stood out as odd — they simply did not belong in such a law. Any economist with
some knowledge of antitrust laws would have raised a huge fuss.
The latest
edition
Last year, to
please the IMF, the government insisted that certain “modifications” were to be
made to this already weakened law. Not one of the experts who helped draft the
original law was consulted, and when one or two were invited to attend
discussions, their advice fell on deaf ears, or was treated as inconsequential.
Accordingly, March 2023 saw the birth of a
deficient competition law.
Not one of the experts who helped draft the original law was consulted, and when one or two were invited to attend discussions, their advice fell on deaf ears, or was treated as inconsequential.
You probably
have quickly sensed a high level of upset and dismay in my writing about this
ill-constructed law. And you would be
correct! Years of work and diligence, which entered into the making of a
world-class piece of legislation, have simply been wasted. What was a standard
of excellence has been swept away by one tidal wave of incompetence after
another.
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