Minister of Justice Dr. Bassam Talhouni stated that the recent amendments to the Penal Code and the Enforcement Law are part of an integrated reform vision aimed at balancing the protection of rights with the creation of a fair legal environment that supports economic and social stability.
اضافة اعلان
Speaking at a panel discussion organized by the Amman Chamber of Industry on Saturday, titled "Lifting Criminal Protection from Cheques," Talhouni affirmed the government's commitment to supporting the private sector by providing a balanced legislative framework and legal tools that ensure rights are upheld without excessive complexity or hardship.
“We want to assure the private sector that the legal protection tools are available,” he said, emphasizing that the amendments aim to restore confidence in commercial dealings without imposing unjustified burdens or risks.
Talhouni noted that a minimum of six months is needed to assess the real impact of these amendments on individuals and businesses, highlighting the importance of dialogue between the public and private sectors when discussing how legislation affects real-world practices.
He emphasized that the amendments were not arbitrary but stemmed from extensive studies and consultations with experts, and were a response to growing misuse of debt instruments and practices that undermined trust in commercial transactions. The changes aim to safeguard creditor rights without compromising human dignity or basic livelihoods.
Talhouni also referred to the government's broader legal reform efforts, including amendments to the Enforcement Law and the Personal Data Protection Law, alongside digital innovations such as creditworthiness assessment apps that help parties make informed financial commitments.
Engineer Fathi Jaghbir, President of both the Jordan and Amman Chambers of Industry, said the chambers had worked since the lifting of criminal protection from cheques to help industrial companies adapt to the legal shift, providing suggested measures tailored to each business sector.
He stressed the chamber’s efforts to protect financial rights in trade and contract transactions and announced a forthcoming position paper with recommendations to protect cheque users’ rights, to be submitted to the Ministry of Justice.
The session, moderated by Dr. Eyad Abu Haltam (Amman Chamber of Industry), included participation from:
Judge Waleed Kanakriyah, Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice
Adnan Naji, Director General of the Jordan Loan Guarantee Corporation
Dr. Maher Mahrouq, Director General of the Association of Banks
Ahmad Al-Amoudi, Director General of CRIF Jordan
Moataz Abu Zanad, Executive Director of the Supervision Department for Finance and Credit Information Companies
Key Recommendations and Takeaways:
Participants called for:
Enhancing civil debt collection systems
Improving enforcement mechanisms
Encouraging digital payments as an alternative to cheques
Using credit scoring and reports to assess a client’s repayment ability
Modernizing insolvency laws for individuals and companies
Promoting negotiation and arbitration tools in financial disputes
Engaging the insurance sector to cover default risks
They noted that positive impacts of removing criminal protection from cheques include:
Improved liquidity and cash flow management
Greater reliance on alternative financing tools
Reduction of chain-reaction defaults in postdated sales
Decreased misuse of cheques
Development of modern collection and guarantee mechanisms
However, negative consequences include:
Difficulty for sectors reliant on postdated sales due to liquidity constraints
Higher risk of non-payment among cheque-dependent companies
Declining trust in cheques as a means of payment
Lack of swift legal enforcement mechanisms to compel repayment
Participants stressed the urgent need to:
Promote credit evaluations through credit reporting systems
Reform the Enforcement Law to introduce a comprehensive non-custodial framework
Expand the data sources available to credit information companies
Draft civil insolvency legislation for individuals
The session concluded with a shared call for coordinated legal and economic reforms to support financial stability and modern commercial practices in Jordan.
