Jordan’s Legislation and Opinion Bureau has published wide-ranging amendments to the Enforcement Law, including broader powers to impose travel bans and seize assets, new rules governing debt installments, the use of electronic ankle bracelets as an alternative to detention, and greater flexibility in managing seized assets.
اضافة اعلان
A comparison of the draft with the current Enforcement Law and its latest amendments in 2022, conducted by Al-Mamlaka, showed that the proposed legislation seeks to expand the measures available to creditors to collect their rights, while maintaining key restrictions on debtor imprisonment and revising procedures for settlements, seizures and appeals against enforcement decisions.
Among the most prominent proposed changes is the travel ban. Under the draft, the head of the enforcement department could ban a debtor from traveling at the creditor’s request until the debt is paid, without requiring the evidence currently stipulated regarding the debtor’s unstable residence in Jordan, disposal or concealment of assets, or the possibility of leaving the country to delay enforcement.
Lifting Travel Bans Against a Guarantee
The draft would allow a travel ban to be lifted in exchange for a guarantee securing enforcement. It would also extend the period after which an enforcement case is deemed abandoned due to lack of follow-up from one year to two years, while removing the provision requiring the head of enforcement to cancel the travel ban when the case is abandoned.
Regarding debt settlements, the draft introduces a minimum monthly installment of no less than 2% of the outstanding debt. Payments would begin 30 days after the initial installment is deposited, unless the parties agree otherwise. The minimum initial payment would remain at 15% of the amount awarded, a rate that has applied since the 2022 amendments.
If a creditor rejects a settlement, the draft would allow the head of enforcement, at the creditor’s request, to summon both parties to determine the debtor’s ability to repay or increase the settlement amount, hear the creditor’s evidence and issue an appropriate decision.
As for debtor imprisonment, the draft maintains the maximum at 60 days per year for a single debt and no more than 120 days regardless of the number of creditors. It also continues to prohibit the imprisonment of a debtor who is unable to fulfill a contractual obligation, except for obligations arising from a real estate lease or employment contract.
Electronic Bracelet Required in Certain Cases
The draft adds a provision allowing a creditor to request the imprisonment of a judgment debtor without proving the debtor’s ability to pay or giving them an opportunity to propose a settlement if they refuse to comply with a judgment requiring them to perform or refrain from a specific act. This would be in addition to existing cases involving alimony, dowry, compensation for damage resulting from a criminal offense, and failure to comply with judgments concerning child handover and visitation.
The draft would also allow debtors to be required to wear an electronic ankle bracelet in cases where imprisonment is not permitted, as part of precautionary measures that the head of enforcement may impose, including travel bans, under regulations to be issued for this purpose.
In seizure procedures, the draft would allow the head of enforcement to seize a debtor’s assets immediately after a lawsuit is registered if the enforceable instrument is a judicial ruling, at the request of the successful party. For other enforceable instruments, however, it would require proof that the debtor has begun transferring or concealing assets, while enforcement procedures could not be completed before the notification period expires.
Handling Seized Vehicles
The draft would also require debtors involved in enforcement cases related to commercial debts to disclose their sources of income and assets sufficient to repay the debt within seven days of being notified of the order.
Regarding seized vehicles, the draft would allow the head of enforcement to permit a debtor to deposit the vehicle at a location of their choice against a guarantee until a decision on its transfer of ownership is issued. The debtor could also request to take possession of the vehicle while it remains under seizure if the creditor fails to pursue its sale 30 days after the day following notification of the seizure order. The debtor would have 10 days from receiving notification to submit the request.
The draft would also allow a debtor to sell or mortgage seized real estate within no more than 60 days from the day following the date of authorization, provided the transaction value is not below the property’s assessed value and the proceeds are deposited into the enforcement case account. Interested parties would be allowed to challenge the property’s valuation before it is offered at auction.
For auctions, the draft requires bidding on movable property to begin at no less than 50% of its assessed value. The successful bidder would have three days to deposit the purchase price instead of paying immediately. It would also shorten the period for bringing claims to rescind real estate sales due to formal errors from one year to six months, in accordance with the applicable legal provisions.
Broader Use of Electronic Enforcement
Regarding appeals, the draft would make decisions issued in enforcement cases involving judicial judgments worth JD50,000 or more, as well as cases involving enforcement of mortgage instruments, appealable before the Court of Appeal rather than the Court of First Instance sitting in its appellate capacity. Appeals in other decisions covered by the relevant article would remain before the latter court.
The draft would also allow appeals before the Court of Cassation by permission in specific cases, including conflicting appellate decisions on the same legal issue or enforcement claims worth JD1 million or more involving a new and significant point of law, subject to specified conditions.
The draft would expand the use of electronic enforcement, making electronic registration of cases, payment of fees, submission of applications, notifications and official correspondence the default. Paper-based procedures would remain available when necessary, with rules governing the effectiveness of electronic procedures and the calculation of periods for objections and appeals.
The amendments would also expand the territorial jurisdiction of some enforcement departments to include the debtor’s place of residence, raise the minimum judicial rank required to head an enforcement department from fourth to third grade, and add electronic publication to procedures for announcing real estate sales.
The draft also includes amendments to the distribution of enforcement proceeds in cases involving mortgage instruments. It would treat a creditor or a person who received excess or unlawfully obtained funds as a debtor in the same enforcement case for the purpose of recovering those amounts.
The draft contains 22 amendment articles and has been submitted by the Legislation and Opinion Bureau for public consultation until November 3, 2026. Its provisions remain proposals and are not yet in force. If the legislation completes all required stages and is approved, it would take effect 90 days after publication in the Official Gazette.
Source: Al-Ghad
