Jordan’s 20th House of Representatives concluded its first extraordinary session, held from July 12 to August 26, 2026, after debating and passing six bills covering local administration, higher education, property ownership, vocational work, consumer affairs and education quality assurance.
اضافة اعلان
The session marked the conclusion of the House’s first extraordinary legislative term, during which lawmakers held 16 legislative sittings devoted largely to reviewing and approving the legislation specified in the Royal Decree convening the session.
A Royal Decree issued Tuesday formally ended the extraordinary session effective Wednesday, August 26, 2026.
The six bills passed by the House covered local administration, Jordanian universities, real estate ownership, the repeal of the Civil Consumer Corporation Law, regulation of vocational work, and the Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority.
The Royal Decree calling the Parliament into extraordinary session was issued on June 28, 2026, summoning the National Assembly to convene from July 12 to consider the specified legislation.
The extraordinary session was held under the constitutional provision allowing the National Assembly to be convened for special sessions to address specific matters identified in the Royal Decree.
Session Opens With Five Bills Referred to Committees
The House opened its extraordinary session on July 12, with the main part of the opening sitting devoted to referring the bills to the relevant parliamentary committees after the Royal Decrees and government correspondence were read.
During the first sitting, the House referred the 2026 Local Administration Bill to the Administrative Committee following an initial reading in which around 90 lawmakers took part.
The amendments to the Jordanian Universities Law were referred to the Education and Higher Education Committee, the bill repealing the Civil Consumer Corporation Law to the Economy and Investment Committee, the Vocational Work Regulation Bill to the Labor and Social Development Committee, and the Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority Bill to the Education and Higher Education Committee.
The specialized committees then began reviewing and approving the bills before referring them back to the House, turning the following weeks into an intensive legislative process.
Jordanian Universities Law Amended
On July 14, the House approved six of the 12 articles of the amended Jordanian Universities Law after the Education Committee had reviewed and approved the bill with amendments.
On July 19, lawmakers completed their consideration of the bill and approved it by majority vote.
Among the key amendments was a provision allowing universities to allocate 1% of their resources to international promotion, including advertising, visits and exhibitions aimed at attracting international students.
The Jordanian Universities Bill was the first of the six pieces of legislation to be finalized during the extraordinary session.
New Lawmaker Joins Parliament
During the fourth sitting, held on July 21, lawmaker Bakr Al-Kasasbeh took the constitutional oath as a member of the House, succeeding lawmaker Hassan Al-Riyati, whose seat became vacant following a final court ruling against him.
The oath was taken pursuant to Article 80 of the Constitution. The vacant seat was filled under the election law mechanism, which requires the seat to be given to the next candidate on the list from which the former member was elected.
Civil Consumer Corporation Law Repealed
During the same sitting, the House approved the 2026 bill repealing the Civil Consumer Corporation Law. The bill contained seven articles as submitted by the government and had previously been approved by the Economy and Investment Committee on July 15.
Vocational Work Regulation
On July 22, the House began approving the articles of the Vocational Work Regulation Bill, passing nine of its 17 articles with amendments to the government draft.
The House completed its consideration of the bill on July 26 and approved it in full by majority vote.
The legislation aims to regulate the vocational and technical labor market by establishing rules for professional licenses, licensing vocational and technical training providers, accrediting training programs and trainers, and regulating professional examinations and oversight of professions and training service providers.
The bill was later returned to the House after the Senate introduced amendments. On August 18, the Senate sent it back with changes to Articles 8 and 16, including provisions allowing people with prior professional experience to obtain licenses without taking examinations under conditions set by regulations.
The amendments also addressed recognition of experience certified by official bodies in other countries and reduced penalties for violations.
On August 19, the House approved the bill with the Senate’s amendments, making it the second piece of legislation to be finalized during the final days of the session.
Real Estate Ownership Law
The 2026 amendments to the Real Estate Ownership Law were among the bills that consumed the most parliamentary time, containing 37 articles debated over several consecutive sittings.
On July 28, the House approved the first article after the Legal Committee had endorsed the bill on July 19. On August 2, lawmakers continued approving articles two through six.
Among the key changes was the inclusion of railways in the legal definition of a road, with implications for expropriation provisions. The bill also transferred authority to issue settlement orders from the director of the Department of Lands and Survey to the Council of Ministers.
On August 3, the House approved Articles 8 through 37, including provisions concerning the dissolution of co-ownership, property ownership by non-Jordanians and legal entities, and changes to the purposes for which property may be owned.
The amendments allow non-Jordanians and legal entities to own or lease property for private residential use for themselves or their families, within an area of no more than 10 dunums, by a decision of the Minister of Finance based on a recommendation from the director of the Department of Lands and Survey.
The House also allowed legal entities engaged in financial leasing to own property for purposes related to that activity, subject to the conditions set out in the legislation.
On August 4, lawmakers completed approval of the bill, including a provision raising the additional compensation margin for expropriation to 20% from 10% of the assessed value of the expropriated property, based on the higher value determined under the criteria set out in the law.
Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority
On August 9, the House began debating the 2026 Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority Bill, approving its first six articles as submitted by the government, with amendments.
The Education and Higher Education Committee had approved the bill on July 30 after it was referred to the committee during the first sitting of the session.
Among the amendments was a provision defining an educational institution as public if it is administered by the Ministry of Education, another ministry or the Jordan Armed Forces.
On August 11, the House completed its consideration of the bill and approved it in full.
The Council of Ministers had approved the bill’s explanatory reasons on January 25, with the legislation aimed at regulating accreditation and quality assurance frameworks in educational institutions.
Local Administration Bill Takes Center Stage
The 2026 Local Administration Bill dominated the final weeks of the extraordinary session. Containing 70 articles, it required several consecutive sittings for lawmakers to complete.
After being referred to the Administrative Committee during the first sitting, the committee approved the bill on August 13. The House began debating it during its 13th sitting on August 16, which lasted around four and a half hours.
Discussions covered eligibility and membership requirements, the powers of municipalities and governorate councils, the role of executive councils and administrative governors, financial resources, investment and oversight.
The bill maintains the requirement for each municipality to have an executive director responsible for heading the administrative and executive apparatus, serving as the disbursement officer and the reference point for municipal departments. The conditions and mechanism for appointment, as well as the director’s duties, powers, rights, obligations and termination of service, are to be determined by regulation.
The legislation also strengthens the mayor’s role in monitoring service quality, addressing stalled projects and coordinating with government and service agencies and the local community, while maintaining the powers of the municipal council and executive apparatus.
It also reorganizes the role of governorate councils, turning them into platforms for development and investment planning and project monitoring, while expanding representation of elected bodies at the governorate level to include professional associations, women’s unions, farmers, chambers of commerce and industry, among others.
August 17: 12 Articles Approved
On August 17, the House continued debating the Local Administration Bill and approved 12 articles, Articles 1 through 12, during a session lasting around three hours.
Among the amendments was a requirement for municipal council heads and members to obtain prior approval from the ministry when traveling on official missions or participating in training programs or workshops outside Jordan. Applications must be submitted 10 days before travel, while the minister must also be notified of private leave.
August 18: 23 More Articles
On August 18, lawmakers intensified their consideration of the Local Administration Bill, approving 23 additional articles, Articles 13 through 35, during a session lasting around five hours.
The sitting included amendments concerning financial burdens on citizens and municipalities. Among them was a reduction in the share of road paving, resurfacing and retaining-wall costs collected from property owners adjoining both sides of a road, from 50% to 30%.
The House also reduced the threshold for objections to the validity or value of an assessment from 20% to 10% of the amount due.
Regarding municipal budgets, lawmakers endorsed a recommendation from the Administrative Committee that employee salaries and allowances should not exceed 50% of the municipal budget.
August 19: Local Administration Bill Finalized
During its 16th and final sitting, held on August 19 and lasting around four and a half hours, the House completed its consideration of the Local Administration Bill by approving 34 articles, Articles 36 through 70.
The House also reopened Article 11 after previously approving an amendment allowing an elected municipal council to select the municipal director from among the three top candidates identified by the relevant public-sector appointment authority.
After reopening the article, lawmakers reversed their earlier decision and adopted the provision as originally drafted, requiring each municipality to have a director heading the administrative and executive apparatus and serving as the disbursement officer and reference for municipal departments. Appointment procedures and conditions, duties, powers, rights, obligations and termination of service are to be determined by regulation.
The House also approved a recommendation from the Administrative Committee to remove the Council of Ministers’ proposed authority to dissolve municipal councils in its original form. Instead, it adopted wording linking dissolution to the procedures established by law, with an interim municipal committee to be appointed until a new council is elected within one year of the dissolution.
During the same sitting, the House also finalized the Vocational Work Regulation Bill after it was returned by the Senate, approving it with the upper chamber’s amendments.
Six Laws Passed in One Extraordinary Session
With the approval of the Local Administration Bill and the Vocational Work Regulation Bill, the legislative process for all six bills on the agenda of the first extraordinary session of the 20th House was completed.
The final legislative package comprised:
Amendments to the Jordanian Universities Law.
Repeal of the Civil Consumer Corporation Law.
Regulation of Vocational Work.
Amendments to the Real Estate Ownership Law.
The Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority Law.
The Local Administration Law.
Between July 12 and August 19, the House held 16 sittings during the extraordinary session, focusing almost entirely on the six legislative files specified in the Royal Decree.
The first extraordinary session of Jordan’s 20th House thus concluded as an intensive legislative period, beginning with the referral of five bills to specialized parliamentary committees and ending with the approval of all six bills set out in the Royal Decree.
