Approval of the validating reasons for the 2026 Draft Regulation on Judicial Expertise Before Regular Courts.
Approval of a €25 million grant agreement with the French Development Agency (AFD), funded by the European Union, to implement the Madaba wastewater treatment plant expansion and sewage network rehabilitation project.
اضافة اعلان
Approval of a land-use agreement with a Chinese company to complete feasibility studies for a green hydrogen production project in Jordan.
Al-Rahahleh appointed as Director General of the Social Security Corporation.
During its session held on Wednesday, chaired by Prime Minister Jafar Hassan, the Cabinet decided to approve the validating reasons for the 2026 Draft Amending Law of the Christian Denominational Councils Law. This is a preliminary step before sending it to the Legislation and Opinion Bureau to complete its formal approval procedures.
The draft law aims to add paragraphs to Article 4 of the original law concerning the determination of certain personal status matters in ecclesiastical courts, as stipulated in their respective laws.
The draft law clearly defines the jurisdiction of the Christian Denominational Councils in a manner consistent with the tenets of the Christian faith. It preserves the rights of Christian denominations to organize their religious affairs and personal status in accordance with those rules, while fully respecting the provisions of the Jordanian Constitution.
This amendment comes based on a proposal submitted by the Council of Church Leaders in Jordan, in consensus with the Christian members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Under the amendment, a paragraph will be added to Article 4 of the original law, stating that, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, matters of personal status for Christian denominations—which shall be subject to their ecclesiastical laws—include cases of marriage, divorce, wills, and adoption.
Furthermore, Article 10 of the original law will be amended to read: "Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, the court, or any regular court when reviewing a lawsuit related to immovable property located in the Kingdom that was left with or without a will, shall apply the competent laws."
The new amendments will not affect legal positions established prior to the enforcement of its provisions.
Judicial Expertise Regulation
The Cabinet also decided to approve the validating reasons for the 2026 Draft Regulation on Judicial Expertise Before Regular Courts, preparing to send it to the Legislation and Opinion Bureau for its formal issuance procedures.
The draft regulation represents an advanced step in modernizing the judicial system. It comes as part of ongoing efforts to develop the legislative and institutional environment for judicial expertise, aligning with the Economic Modernization Vision and the Kingdom's digital transformation program.
Judicial expertise is a fundamental pillar of achieving justice, as it allows courts to utilize necessary technical and specialized knowledge to resolve cases efficiently and accurately, thereby solidifying trust in the justice system. The presence of qualified experts with scientific competence and practical experience enhances the quality of technical reports and increases litigants' confidence in their outcomes.
The new system guarantees the establishment of a modern institutional framework to manage expertise affairs before the courts by introducing a specialized "Expertise Office" within courts. This office will organize the administrative and technical tasks related to experts and follow up on expertise procedures, which will refine processes, raise execution efficiency, and accelerate the completion of expert work.
The draft regulation requires experts to meet mandatory qualifications, ensuring integrity, impartiality, and the capacity to perform assigned tasks with high efficiency. This will positively impact the speed of adjudicating cases and reduce disputes over technical reports.
The regulation emphasizes the need for continuous and specialized training for experts to keep pace with scientific and technical developments, ensuring the desired benefits from the judicial expertise system and enhancing the overall efficiency of the justice system.
It also introduces comprehensive digital transformation by establishing an electronic registry for experts, granting legal validity to documents and data extracted from it. Additionally, expert rosters will be published electronically on the Ministry of Justice website, and users will be enabled to submit objections, complaints, and notifications through electronic means, thereby enhancing accessibility, transparency, and efficiency.
Furthermore, the draft regulation restricts the practice of expert work before courts to certified, sworn experts in accordance with the provisions of the regulation, marking the first time a "sworn experts system" is adopted. It also introduces a legal framework for rare expertise required by courts in certain specialized cases and permits legal entities (corporate bodies) to practice expert work according to specific regulations and standards, expanding the pool of specialized expertise available to the courts.
The draft regulation adopts clear and objective foundations for examinations and personal interviews for certain types of experts, requiring them to renew their accreditation annually. It also introduces a performance evaluation system linked to an integrated framework of oversight and accountability, boosting the quality of expert work and raising professional competence.
The project enshrines the principles of justice and transparency in designating experts by adopting a rotational and ranking system. It also mandates the creation of a special account for experts' fees to regulate collection and payment mechanisms through clear and effective procedures.
Clear accountability procedures are also outlined, such as forming specialized committees to review complaints and objections against evaluation results, and introducing progressive penalties including notices, warnings, suspension from practicing expert work, and removal from the experts' registry, ensuring professional integrity and quality performance are maintained.
The text includes specific clauses defining experts' obligations and professional duties to guarantee their independence and impartiality during the execution of their tasks. It strictly prohibits direct communication between the expert and any of the parties to the lawsuit outside the approved legal frameworks and procedures, preserving the integrity of litigation proceedings and reinforcing public trust in the justice system.
Madaba Wastewater Project and Green Hydrogen
On the front of improving services provided to citizens, the Cabinet decided to approve a €25 million grant agreement with the French Development Agency (AFD), funded by the European Union, to implement the Madaba purification plant expansion and sewage network rehabilitation project.
The Madaba sanitation project is one of the key projects in the water sector. It is expected to serve approximately 200,000 people by increasing the capacity of the purification plant in the governorate to 16,000 cubic meters per day, in addition to promoting the reuse of treated wastewater for restricted agriculture, which applies to specific crop varieties such as fodder.
The project aims to expand the wastewater collection system while protecting the environment and maximizing reuse opportunities to alleviate pressure on natural resources for irrigation purposes. Under the project, new sanitation and water treatment infrastructure will be constructed, the wastewater treatment plant will be rebuilt and expanded, and a new network for using treated water will be established.
The Cabinet also decided to approve a land-use agreement with the Chinese "United Energy Group (UEG)" company to complete feasibility studies for a green hydrogen production project in Jordan.
The decision aligns with the Kingdom's direction toward promoting clean energy projects, achieving environmental sustainability, and seeking to attract qualitative investments to the green hydrogen and low-carbon fuels sector, supported by an advanced legislative environment and a qualified infrastructure suitable for establishing such projects.
The project comes within the context of the government's efforts to enhance Jordan's position as a regional hub for green industries and clean fuels, alongside supporting industries related to ammonia and its derivatives, and opening new export horizons to global markets that are experiencing growing demand for low-carbon products, in partnership with international investors and developers.
Social Security Leadership Change
On another note, the Cabinet decided to refer the Director General of the Social Security Corporation, Jadallah Al-Khalayleh, to retirement, and to appoint Dr. Hazem Tayseer Al-Rahahleh as the new Director General of the Corporation.
