Legislation and Opinion Bureau On behalf of LOB Mais Khlaifat Assisstant Director/Legal Affairs Directorate Executive Privatization Commission

Responsibilities of the LOB  Review and study any draft legislation, and modify it if deemed necessary  Draft any legislation upon the request of the PM, however, that does not hinder their right in taking the initiative to suggest a new legislation or amendment to a current one.

Responsibilities of the LOB  Participate in developing legislations in Jordan, prepare study papers and research, hold seminars and lectures  provide legal opinions in issues presented to the LOB directly by ministries and other governmental bodies and local authorities  Draft decisions and other regulatory instructions issued by the Cabinet  Any other responsibilities that are related to legislation or legal issues

Steps taken by LOB  Establish a (Legislative Data Unit) within LOB to build a data base for all legislative data that includes: - The constitution and related regulations in addition to resolutions of the High Council for Constitution interpretation. - Laws and related regulations as well as resolutions of laws interpretation Bureau - Instructions issued in relation to laws and regulations - Legal consultations provided by LOB on various legal issues The parliament, Ministry of Justice and the Judicial Council has been given access to this data base

Steps taken by LOB  In support of good governance and transparency principle LOB has founded a website which hosts all draft legislation submitted for LOB review, this website also allows commenting on draft legislation  These comments and notes are taken into consideration when reviewing the draft legislation

Steps taken by LOB  Review current legislation in light of continuously changing circumstances and new legislations to eliminate inconsistency and overlapping of legislation

Steps Needed  Establish a legislation translation unit within LOB to allow LOB to learn and study international practices as well as translate Jordanian legislation the thing that results ultimately in uniformity in legislation method among all countries  Establish an independent agency that deals with all legislation related issues including adopting legal terminology, ensuring that an article in a regulation does not contradict an article in a law.

Recommendations  Establish an international legal data base which will enable members to learn about new developments in legislative drafting  It is necessary for every legislative agency to have a unit that provides compelling reasons for a legislation as well as provides annotations that explains that legislation  Facilitate study visits and training among participating countries which is a ley element in capacity building  A mandatory legislative drafting course should be added to the curriculum of law school in universities

THANK YOU