All papers, statistics and materials contained in the Country Profiles express entirely the opinion of the mentioned authors. They should not, unless otherwise mentioned, be attributed to the Secretariat of the United Nations. The designations employed and the presentation of material on maps in the Country Profiles do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

HHAASSHHEEMMIITTEE KKIINNGGDDOOMM OOFF

JJOORRDDAANN PPuubblliicc AAddmmiinniissttrraattiioonn

CCoouunnttrryy PPrrooffiillee

Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM)

Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)

United Nations

February 2004

Table of Contents

Table of Contents........................................................................................... 1

Jordan.......................................................................................................... 2

1. General Information ................................................................................... 3 1.1 People.................................................................................................. 3 1.2 Economy .............................................................................................. 3 1.3 Public Spending ..................................................................................... 4 1.4 Public Sector Employment and Wages....................................................... 4

2. Legal Structure .......................................................................................... 5 2.1 Legislative Branch.................................................................................. 5 2.2 Executive Branch ................................................................................... 6 2.3 Judiciary Branch .................................................................................... 7 2.4 Local Government.................................................................................. 7

3. The State and Civil Society .......................................................................... 9 3.1 Ombudsperson ...................................................................................... 9 3.2 NGOs ................................................................................................... 9 3.3 Civil Society .........................................................................................10

4. Civil Service .............................................................................................11 4.1 Legal basis...........................................................................................11 4.2 Recruitment .........................................................................................11 4.3 Promotion............................................................................................12 4.4 Remuneration ......................................................................................12 4.5 Training...............................................................................................12 4.6 Gender................................................................................................13

5. Ethics and Civil Service ..............................................................................14 5.1 Corruption ...........................................................................................14 5.2 Ethics..................................................................................................15

6. e-Government ..........................................................................................17 6.1 e-Government Readiness .......................................................................17 6.2 e-Participation......................................................................................18

7. Links .......................................................................................................19 7.1 National sites .......................................................................................19 7.2 Miscellaneous sites................................................................................19

1

Jordan Click here for map of Western Asia

Source: The World Factbook - Jo

Jordan’s democratization process is regardedregion. In the aftermath of the 1967 war with and Gaza, parliamentary elections were susphave been held since then for four-year terms.

Source: European Co

With elections held on June 17, 2003 Jordan rthe process of democratization and reform thathe last decade. The government promoted apublic political debate on internal economicexternal issues such as Iraq and the Middle Eaout of 57.5%, higher in the rural areas than in

A new Government was appointed by the Kiconfidence on August 19 with the support of Prime Minister and most of the incumbent Mini

Jordan’s economic reform agenda includes psector. It also seeks to improve the judiciary spartnership to draw up long-term policies for e

Sourc

2

N

JJOORRDDAAN

rdan

Government type

Constitutional monarchy Independence

25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) Constitution

08/01/1952 (click here) Legal system

Based on Islamic law and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal; has not accepted compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction Administrative divisions

12 governorates Source: The World Factbook - Jordan

as one of the more advanced in the Israel and the occupation of Westbank ended between 1967 and 1989, but mmission - Country Strategy Paper 2002-2006 (edited)

eaffirmed its commitment to pursuing t the Kingdom has undertaken during ‘Jordan First’ campaign to focus the and social matters rather than on st. As a result, there was a record turn Amman.

ng and won a Parliamentary vote of 84 deputies out of a total of 107. The sters have kept their portfolios.

rivatization and reform of the public ystem and to promote a public-private conomic and social reform. e: European Commission - Latest Internal Development

11.. GGeenneerraall IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn

1.1 People Jordan Lebanon Syria 1

Population a

Total estimated population (,000), 2003 5,473 3,652 17,799

Female estimated population (,000), 2003 2,624 1,862 8,828

Male estimated population (,000), 2003 2,849 1,790 8,971

Sex ratio (males per 100 females), 2003 109 96 102

Average annual rate of change of pop. (%), 2000-2005 2.66 1.56 2.38

Youth and Elderly Population b

Total population under age 15 (%), 2003 38 29 37

Female population aged 60+ (%), 2003 5 9 5

Male population aged 60+ (%), 2003 5 8 4

Human Settlements c

Urban population (%), 2001 79 90 52

Rural population (%), 2001 21 10 48

Urban average annual rate of change in pop. (%), ‘00-‘05 2.96 1.88 3.25

Rural average annual rate of change in pop/ (%), ‘00-‘05 2.19 -1.55 1.78

Education d

Total school life expectancy, 1998/1999 12.3i 12.8 9 1

Female school life expectancy, 1998/1999 12.6i 13 .. 1

Male school life expectancy, 1998/1999 12i 12.7 .. 1

Female estimated adult (15+) illiteracy rate (%), 2000 15.7ii 19.7 39.6 2

Male estimated adult (15+) illiteracy rate (%), 2000 5.1ii 7.9 11.7 2

Employment e

Unemployment rate (15+) (%), 2001 .. .. 11.2 1

Female adult (+15) economic activity rate (%), 2001 13iii .. 21iv 2

Male adult (+15) economic activity rate (%), 2001 73iii .. 83iv 2

Notes: i 1999/2000; ii 1991; iii 1993, Excluding armed forces; iv Excluding armed forces

1.2 Economy Jordan Lebanon Syria 2

GDP a

GDP total (millions US$), 2002 9,296 17,294 21,872

GDP per capita (US$), 2002 1,798 3,894 1,286

PPP GDP total (millions int. US$), 2002 21,233 18,845 57,563

PPP GDP per capita(int. US$), 2002 4,106 4,243 3,385

Sectors b

Value added in agriculture (% of GDP), 2003 26.0 12.2 23.5

Value added in industry (% of GDP), 2003 71.8 20.0 28.6

Value added in services (% of GDP), 2003 44.5 67.7 48.0

Miscellaneous c

GDP implicit price deflator (annual % growth), 2003 1.9 1.3 5.1

Private consumption (% of GDP), 2003 79.7 96.1 58.5

Government consumption (% of GDP), 2003 23.2 12.8 10.7

Notes:

1 United Nations Statistics Division: a Statistics Division and Population Division of the UN Secretariat; b Statistics Division and Population Division of the UN Secretariat; c Population Division of the UN Secretariat; d1 UNESCO ; d2 UNESCO; e1 ILO; e2 ILO/OECD2 World Bank - Data and Statistics:

3

a Quick Reference Tables; b Data Profile Tables ; c Country at a Glance

1.3 Public Spending Jordan Lebanon Syria Public expenditures 3

Education (% of GNP), 1985-1987 6.8 .. 4.8 a

Education (% of GNP), 1995-1997 7.9 2.5i 4.2 a

Health (% of GDP), 1990 3.6 .. 0.4

Health (% of GDP), 1998 3.6 2.2 0.9

Military (% of GDP), 1990 11.1 5 6.9 b

Military (% of GDP), 2000 9.5 3.6 5.5 b

Total debt service (% of GDP), 1990 15.5 3.5 9.7

Total debt service (% of GDP), 2000 8 11 2

Notes: i Data refer to the ministry of education only

1.4 Public Sector Employment and Wages

Data from the latest year available

Jordan 1991-1995

Jordan 1996-2000

Middle East & North Africa

average4

1996-2000

Non-Gulf States

average4

1996-2000

Middle income group

average4

1996-2000

Employment (,000) 32.0 79.5

Civilian Central Government5(% pop.) 0.79 1.73 0.65 0.65 0.59

(,000) 32.0 .. Sub-national Government5

(% pop.) 0.79 .. 0.65 0.65 0.59

(,000) 62 61.7 Education employees

(% pop.) 1.53 1.30 0.96 0.97 1.20

(,000) 19 5.38 Health employees

(% pop.) 0.47 0.12 0.20 0.21 0.70

(,000) .. 10 Police

(% pop.) .. 0.22 0.37 0.26 0.30

(,000) 99.0 104.05 Armed forces

(% pop.) 2.36 2.26 0.91 0.86 0.46

(,000) .. 19.0 SOE Employees

(% pop.) .. 0.40 2.67 1.04 3.61

(,000) .. .. Total Public Employment

(% pop.) .. .. 6.26 6.26 6.05

Wages Total Central gov't wage bill (% of GDP) 14.4 16.0 11.1 10.5 8.5

Total Central gov’t wage bill (% of exp) .. .. 32.6 29.3 21.6

Average gov't wage (LCU) 2,400 2,840

Real ave. gov’t wage ('97 price) (LCU) 2,790 2,840

Average gov’t wage to per capita GDP ratio 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.3 4.2

Source: World Bank - Public Sector Employment and Wages

3 UNDP - Human Development Report 2002a Data refer to total public expenditure on education, including current and capital expenditures. b As a result of a number of limitations in the data, comparisons of military expenditure data over time and across countries should be made with caution. For detailed notes on the data see SIPRI (2001). 4 Averages for regions and sub regions are only generated if data is available for at least 35% of the countries in that region or sub region.

4

5 Excluding education, health and police – if available (view Country Sources for further explanations).

22.. LLeeggaall SSttrruuccttuurree

Jordan is a constitutional monarchy based on the constitution promulgated on January 8, 1952. The Constitution concentrates a high degree of executive and legislative authority in the King, who determines domestic and foreign policy.

Source: U.S. Department of State - Background Notes & U.S. Department of State - Human Rights (2001)

2.1 Legislative Branch

Bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the House of Representatives (110 seats), also called the Chamber of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwaab) and the Senate (40 seats), also called the House of Notables (Majlis al-Ayan).6

Women in parliament: 6 out of 110 seats: (6%). ? out of 40 seats (?%).7

The Legislative Power is vested in the bicameral National Assembly and the King. The National Assembly consists of a Chamber of Deputies and a Senate.

The Chamber of Deputies8 consists of members elected by secret ballot in general direct elections. At present, the Chamber of Deputies consists of 110 members with six seats reserved for women (and a number of seats reserved for various religions and ethnicities). These seats and are allocated by a special electoral panel if no women are elected. The term of office is four calendar years.

The Senate shall not exceed half the number of the members of the Chamber of Deputies. Currently, The Senate consists of 40 members. The King appoints members of the Senate and appoints the Speaker from amongst them. The term of office is four years

In addition to the general requirements prescribed in Article 75 the present Constitution, a Senator must have completed forty calendar years of age and must belong to one of the following classes: Present and former Prime Ministers and Ministers, persons who had previously held the office of Ambassador, Minister Plenipotentiary, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, President and judges of the Court of Cassation and of the Civil and Sharia Courts of Appeal, retired military officers of the rank of Lt. General and above, former Deputies who were elected at least twice as deputies, and other similar personalities who enjoy the confidence of the people in view of the services rendered by them to the Nation and the Country.

The King may dissolve both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate - or relieve any Senator of his membership

Source: Constitution of Jordan & U.S. Department of State - Background Notes

The duties of the legislative power can be summarized in the following:

• Enacting Law: Law cannot be promulgated unless passed by both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies and ratified by the King.

6 Source of fact boxes if nothing else stated: The World Factbook - Jordan7 Inter-Parliamentary Union - Women in National Parliaments8 Click here for Election Law

5

Fact box: elections: House of Representatives - last held 17 June 2003, next to be held 2007 election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - independents and others 89.6%, Islamic Action Front 10.4%; seats by party - independents and others 92, Islamic Action Front 18 (note - one of the six quota seats was given to a female IAF candidate)

• Monitoring governmental actions through casting votes of confidence or no confidence in the Cabinet or any of the Ministers.

• Questioning Ministers, through enquires and direct questions, and approving the state’s public budget.

Source: Jordan Institute of Public Administration - Civil Service Reform for Sustainable Human Development (1999)

The House of Representatives has been convened and dissolved by the monarch several times since 1974; in November 1989, the first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held; political parties were not legalized until 1992; King Abdallah delayed the 2001 elections until 2003

Source: CIA - World Factbook

2.2 Executive Branch

cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the monarch elections: None; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch

The Executive Power is vested in the King, who exercises his powers through his Ministers in accordance with the provisions of the present Constitution.

Source: Constitution of Jordan

The king signs and executes all laws. His veto power may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of both houses of the National Assembly. He appoints and may dismiss all judges by decree, approves amendments to the constitution, declares war, and commands the armed forces. Cabinet decisions, court judgments, and the national currency are issued in his name. The king, who may dismiss other cabinet members at the prime minister's request, appoints the council of ministers, led by a prime minister. The cabinet is responsible to the Chamber of Deputies on matters of general policy and can be forced to resign by a two-thirds vote of "no confidence" by that body.

Source: U.S. Department of State - Background Notes

A parliamentary government assumes the existence of an Executive Power composed of two elements: the Head of State, and the Cabinet. The Head of State is independent from the Cabinet and Parliament. This independence grants immunity from any political liability regarding governmental affairs introduced to Parliament. In fact, liability is the responsibility of the Cabinet and the Ministers.

The Cabinet Ministers who are regarded responsible for all state affairs, internal and external, execute the public and administrative duties.

The Cabinet is authorized to set provisional Law in specific cases in the absence of Parliament. Moreover, the Executive Power is entrusted with setting regulations that are consistent with the provisions of the Law.

The Jordanian Cabinet consists of the Prime Minister and a number of Ministers determined by the needs and requirements of the public interest. Thus, the numbers of Ministers vary in each Cabinet depending on the public services provided by the government and their importance.

Source: Jordan Institute of Public Administration - Civil Service Reform for Sustainable Human Development (1999)

6

Fact box: chief of state: King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999); Crown Prince HAMZAH (half brother of the monarch, born 29 March 1980) head of government: Prime Minister Faisal al-FAYEZ (since 25 October 2003)

2.3 Judiciary Branch

Court of Cassation; Supreme Court (court of final appeal).

The Judicial Power is exercised by the courts of law in their varying types and degrees. All judgments is given in accordance with the law and pronounced in the name of the King.

Source: Constitution of Jordan

Article (97) of the Constitution stipulates that judges are independent and are subject to no authority other than that of the Law. According to Article (98) judges of civil and religious (sharia) courts are appointed and dismissed by a Royal Decree in accordance with the provisions of the Law.

The Constitution divides the courts of Law into three categories, as follows:

• Civil Courts: ordinary courts of Law that deal with civil and criminal cases.

• Religious Courts: these are divided into Sharia courts and Tribunals of other religious communities acknowledged by the state.

• Special Courts: these include Municipal, Income Tax, Military, and Police Courts.

According to the Constitution, courts of all categories are open to all people and protected from any interference in their affairs.

Source: Jordan Institute of Public Administration - Civil Service Reform for Sustainable Human Development (1999)

A judge's appointment to, advancement within, and dismissal from the judiciary are determined by the Higher Judiciary Council, a committee whose members are appointed by the King. In June 2001, Parliament passed a law intended to give the Council increased independent jurisdiction over the judicial branch; previously, the council had been subject to frequent interference and pressure from the Ministry of Justice stemming from the Ministry's oversight of the council. The purpose of the new law was to limit the Ministry of Justice's influence over a judge's career and prevent it from subverting the judicial system in favor of the executive branch. There had been numerous allegations in previous years that judges were "reassigned" temporarily to another court or judicial district in order to remove them from a particular proceeding. The Government claims that the Higher Judiciary Council's new independence makes such tampering much more difficult. Despite constitutional prohibitions against such actions, judges complain of telephone surveillance by the Government.

Source: U.S. Department of State - Human Rights (2001)

2.4 Local Government

The Kingdom is divided into twelve governorates, each headed by a governor and subdivided into administrative regions.

The governorates are an extension of the central government, and are supervised by the Ministry of the Interior. Governors enjoy wide administrative authority, and in specific cases they exercise the powers of ministers.

7

Municipal councils within a governorate are elected by local residents for a four-year term. However, in cases of legal disputes or lack of a quorum, the governor can appoint a municipal committee for an extendable two-year term. Starting in July 1995, nationwide municipal council elections were held on the same day, with a

number of women winning seats for the first time. Similar to the 1993 parliamentary elections, they showed the strength of tribal and family affiliations in people’s voting practices, and greater concern about improved local services than political ideologies.

The mayor and half of the council of the Greater Amman Municipality are appointed by the government, and the other half elected. At the village level, each village has a council appointed by the governor, and councils are changed as the governor deems necessary.

Source: Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (USA) - Local Government

The Municipalities Regulation of 2002 delineates the procedures and bases adhered to in the classification of employees, designations of positions, numbers of positions, and salaries approved for positions on local authority personnel charts, as approved by the Minister of Interior upon recommendation by the local authority council. The employee regulation also specifies employee duties and the minimum level of requirements they entail. In addition, the regulation determines the nature of the committees formed in each municipality for appointment and conducting interviews, stipulating therein the formation of a committee known as the Employee Affairs Committee. This committee makes recommendations to the relevant authorities regarding the appointment and promotion of employees as well as the improvement of employee conditions.

Source: The Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizen's Rights - Appointment of Employees to Palestinian Local...

8

33.. TThhee SSttaattee aanndd CCiivviill SSoocciieettyy

3.1 Ombudsperson

The National Centre for the Protection of Human Rights and Democracy was set up to act as a watchdog on human rights legislation and as an ombudsman for complaints. Jordan has also strongly endorsed the need to develop human, minority and gender rights in the region as stated in the 2002 United Nations Arab Human Development Report.

Source: European Commission - Latest Internal Development

During a seminar in 2002, Mohammad Thneibat, Minister of Administrative Development said that although an institution like the ombudsperson does not exist in Jordan and other Arab countries, there are other bodies charged with conducting the same tasks - but on a different level - than those taken by the ombudspersons.

Mr. Thneibat pointed to the Anti-Corruption Department, the Audit Bureau, the public service office at the Prime Ministry and the Civil Service Department, saying they were other forms of institutions serving the public by combating corruption and advocating justice and transparency (see 5.1). Also, the idea of creating an ombudsman in Jordan was still premature considering the country is in the early stages of institutionalizing democracy, said Mr. Thneibat.

Source: Jordan Times - "Conference focuses on autonomous entity to safeguard people's rights" (January 20, 2002)

3.2 NGOs

NGOs are recently established in Jordan. Most organisations started taking shape after the mid 1990’s. A number of NGOs are formed by royalties.

In general, NGOs in Jordan are weak and do not play a role in revealing corruption, misdemeanours and defaults in the society. This is attributed to several reasons:

The Associations Law is backward and places restrictions on the work of associations. The law allows the minister or his/her deputy to search the premises of any association and take the files of any association at any time.

Most associations are recently established. They lack expertise and knowledge of running and administering an association and they are not aware of their role in lobbying, pressuring, and monitoring the government and other bodies’ performance.

Most associations suffer from financial difficulties. Those who succeed in getting funds for their activities are fought on the basis of receiving what has come to be known as “foreign funding”.

However, in general the government rarely opposes the establishment of any society. It also rarely interferes in NGOs work, not even human rights organisations. For example, Amnesty International opened up an office in February 1993 but closed down later on because of internal clashes and not because of government pressure. The government even regretted at the time that AI took such a decision. Although it is still unclear, NGOs are becoming more professional and more effective with time. But most of the successful ones are semi -governmental or run by royalties.

Source: Transparency International - National Integrity Systems (2001)

9

3.3 Civil Society

The government owns part of the main media means. It owns 61 percent of shares in the leading daily, Al Rai and 35 percent of shares in the second leading Ad-Dustour. It exercises influence on the other two dailies, Al-Aswaq and Al Arab Al Yawm.

The promulgation of a temporary press law on May 17, 1997 was primarily intended to suspend weekly publications as part and parcel of a government campaign to better administer and control parliamentary elections in November that year.9

Until 1997, the press had played a pivotal role in tackling corruption since the restoration of democracy in 1989. The private press, most of which is weekly, revealed a fair amount of corruption-related cases. It could also be said that a large number of cases referred to court were initially raised by the press

Between 1997 and 2001, four press laws were promulgated. All of them are restrictive and limit the press’s role in monitoring the government performance and in revealing corruption related stories.

Also, the Law on Protecting State Confidential Secrets and Documents makes access to information almost impossible. Although the current 1999 Press and Publications Law does not allow prior censorship on newspapers, the press, in practice does not enjoy full freedom in publishing.

Other media means, such as Television and Radio, are state-owned. Although parliament recently promulgated a law that allowed the set-up of a new board of directors composed of both the private and public sectors, the majority of the board is composed of representatives of the public sector.

Source: Transparency International - National Integrity Systems (2001)

9 Sa’eda Kilani, Black Year for Democracy in Jordan. Published by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network, Copenhagen, 1998.

10

44.. CCiivviill SSeerrvviiccee

Jordan went through a series of major overhauls of the public service, characterized by the removal of certain structures only to see some of these reappear as of 2000 in the nation’s endeavours to create a modern public service.

Main landmark in the history of reforming public service in Jordan

1926: General orders for public service. 1955: Establishment of civil service bureau.

1966: Issue of civil service regulations No. 23/1966.

1969: Establishment of Jordan Institution of Public Administration (JIPA).

1984: Royal Commission of Administrative Reform.

1988: Issue of civil service regulations No. 1/1988

1994: Establishment of Bureau of Inspection and Ministry of Administrative Reform.

1994: Issue of civil service regulations No. 1/1994.

1999: Elimination of the Ministry of Administrative Reform. 2000: The formation of the Royal Economic Consultative Council and the revitalization of the Ministry of

Administrative Reform.

Source: International Labour Organization - Comparative study of contents of civil service statutes

The civil service in Jordan is considered the main source of employment for most Jordanians. By the end of 1998, the public sector employment constituted 60% percentage of total employment. This large employment has increased the burden on government budget where the total employee compensation budget constituted 70% of the total government budget.

Source: UNDP - The UNDP Role in Public Administration Reforms in the Arab Region (6/2003) 4.1 Legal basis

In May 2002, after widespread consultations, the Government of Jordan adopted a new civil service Bylaw and its implementing regulations. This law contains a code of ethics for public employees and more meritocratic selection of senior managers, regular and more transparent evaluation and promotion of personnel, and greater scope for dealing with unsatisfactory staff.

The Government has also finalized the job descriptions (duties, reporting arrangements, and qualifications) for 58 public departments. A study of the incentive framework (including pay and allowances) is also planned. But, until now, the salary structure remains to be tackled and the human resources management structure has yet to be put in place.

Source: World Bank - Implementation Completion Report (6/2003)

4.2 Recruitment

Article 22 of the Constitution stipulates that “every Jordanian shall be entitled to be appointed to public offices, under such conditions as prescribed by laws or

11

regulations. Appointment to any government office or any establishment attached to the Government or to any municipal office, whether such appointment is temporary or permanent, shall be made on the basis of merit and qualifications”.

Source: Constitution of Jordan

There is full commitment to equal opportunity of employment and there are quotas established by law for four categories of persons, namely (1) sons and daughters of martyrs; (2) members of poor families receiving regular monthly subsidies from the National Aid Fund; (3) disabled persons whose disability does not prevent them from doing the particular job; and (4) one member of a family with four unemployed family members, being members holding a community college diploma or above. This latter requirement reflects the merit and qualifications requirement of the Constitution.

Source: International Labour Organization - Comparative study of contents of civil service statutes (edited)

The two largest Ministries, Health and Education, whose workforce represent 87% of total civil service employment, have institutionalized the principle of regional distribution of services and delegated most of the Ministers authorities to the Regional Directors. The Civil Service Bylaw of 1998 transferred the central employment authority of the Civil Service Bureau to the governors in the districts. It provided the formation of personnel units in every district chaired by the governor with the membership of the deputy governor, representatives of the concerned agency, a legal counselor, and one of the directorate’s employees in the district. The committee role is to advertise, recruit and hire civil service employees in the districts.

Source: UNDP - The UNDP Role in Public Administration Reforms in the Arab Region (6/2003)

4.3 Promotion

The statute lists the factors that affect the promotion of a civil servant. They include: efficiency in doing one's job, education/qualification, seniority in current position, participation in training programs, and performance on competitions. In general, for a civil servant to be entitled to a promotion, s/he has to have completed at least 3 years of service in the current grade.

Source: International Labour Organization (EEO) - Civil Service Statute

4.4 Remuneration

Source: Institution - Title

4.5 Training

Jordan follows a tradition that was built up in the 1950s and 1960s whereby formal job related and formalized training of civil servants was the norm. Jordan has a formal Institute of Public Administration (JIPA) The JIPA conducts a wide variety of training courses, including top management courses considered as a prerequisite for promoting civil servants into the highest category; middle -management courses; general training courses; specially tailored courses to meet departmental training needs; and short seminars and symposia on specific subjects for high-ranking officials. Some public servants responsible for vocational and technical jobs may receive vocational training through the Vocational Training Corporation which also provides services to the private sector. There is a special department within the Civil Service Bureau responsible for scholarships and training courses abroad.

12

Source: International Labour Organization - Comparative study of contents of civil service statutes (edited)

In its efforts to systematically enhance the capabilities of its human resources, in particular in light of its privatization plan and subsequent policies and programs to facilitate the privatization process, the government of Jordan introduced two training schemes to develop the skills and build the capacity of its civil servants to meet the new economy demands and labour requirements: The first National Training Plan (1993-1997) was launched by JIPA, with the aim to transform the public sector in order to cope with new challenges on the local, regional, and international levels. The plan aimed at improving knowledge, skills and attitudes of public employees at all organizational levels. The second training scheme was the career and Training Paths Project (1997-2001). The overall goal of the project is to design a plan for the development of public human resources by a gradual administrative training path that matches the career path of the public employee. The plan came in response to the Civil Service Bylaw of 1998 and a decree issued by the Prime Minister, which encourages and motivates public employees to participate in the training path programs.

Source: UNDP - The UNDP Role in Public Administration Reforms in the Arab Region (6/2003)

4.6 Gender

The Constitution allows for laws giving special protection to, or providing for special conditions for, the employment of women to be enacted.

Out of 145,854 civil servants, 32 per cent were women (only one of the 115 top level is a woman).

Source: International Labour Organization - Comparative study of contents of civil service statutes (edited)

Maternity leave for civil servants is 90 days paid with full salary and it does not affect the entitlement to normal annual leave.

The council of ministers is empowered to retire male government employees after 20 years of service, and female government employees after 25 years.

Source: International Labour Organization (EEO) - Civil Service Statute

13

55.. EEtthhiiccss aanndd CCiivviill SSeerrvviiccee 5.1 Corruption

2003 CPI Score relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts and ranges between 10 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt).

Corruption Perceptions Index

2003 CPI

Score Surveys

Used Standard Deviation

High-Low Range

Number Inst.

90 percent confidence

range

Rank Country 1 Highly clean 9.7 8 0.3 9.2 - 10.0 4 9.5 - 9.9

43 Jordan 4.6 7 1.1 3.6 – 6.5 5 4.0 – 5.3

133 Highly corrupt 1.3 8 0.7 0.3 - 2.2 6 0.9 - 1.7

Source: Transparency International - Corruption Perceptions Index 2003 Surveys Used: Refers to the number of surveys that were used to assess a country's performance. 17 surveys were used and at least 3 surveys were required for a country to be included in the CPI. Standard Deviation: Indicates differences in the values of the sources. Values below 0.5 indicate agreement, values between 0.5 and c. 0.9 indicate some agreement, while values equal or larger than 1 indicate disagreement. High-Low Range: Provides the highest and lowest values of the sources. Number Institutions: Refers to the number of independent institutions that assessed a country's performance. Since some institutions provided more than one survey. 90 percent confidence range: Provides a range of possible values of the CPI score. With 5 percent probability the score is above this range and with another 5 percent it is below.

The 1952 Constitution is the basis of the Kingdom's principal effort to fight corruption. Article 55 gave parliament the authority to indict government ministers and established the Higher Council that trailed ministers for offences resulting from assuming their duties, and Article 119 of the Constitution provided for an Audit Office which was established by Law No. 28 of 1952.

Article 3 of the Prosecution Law No. 16 of 1960 classified crimes against public management including those of bribery, embezzlement and conflict of interest, as well as abuse of authority and misuse of responsibilities.

The National Charter of 1990, among other things, established an independent authority called the Council of Grievances (renamed the Bureau of Administrative Inspection and Control) to conduct administrative inspections. In its original form it monitored the performance of administrative systems and the behavior of public employees and reported its findings to Parliament and the Council of Ministers, provided it did not intrude on the independence and the needs of the court system.

The Bureau of Administrative Control and Inspection was established according to by-law No. 55 of 1992. It was designed to produce agency administrative procedures, upgrade agency performance and productivity, monitor implementation of applicable laws, by-laws, circulars and decisions. Additionally, the Bureau had the authority to evaluate the Implementation of plans and programmes, and ensure that internal control units at various agencies perform their duties in accordance with government rules and regulations. However This Bureau had been merged with the Audit Bureau in 2002.

The Anti-Corruption Department was established in mid 1996 by a Royal Decree, and attached to the General Intelligence Department. Its aim is to prevent corrupt

14

activities and take proper corrective procedures. This department performs the following tasks: conducts secret investigations of corruption cases and collects relevant data; disrupts corrupt practices and adopts appropriate measures to deter these practices; makes referrals to the public prosecutor and eventually to civil courts when sufficient evidence is available. When there is insufficient evidence for court action, the department refers these cases to the relevant department for administrative action. Additionally, the department supports victims’ grievances; coordinates and cooperates with other security agencies to reduce illegal practices; and encourages cooperation and coordination with concerned department officials and authorities in order to lessen incidences of administration inefficiencies and abuse.

The Higher Committee for Transparency and Accountability was established in 2002 and chaired by the deputy Prime Minister (in October 2003 its chairmanship belonged to the minister of Justice) to look at cases of corruption at the higher level in the society and to refer it to specialized institutions for proceeding and taking corrective actions.

Source: Transparency & Accountability in Government: Case of Jordan (11/2003)

Click here for report on Jordan’s National Integrity Systems (2001)

5.2 Ethics

In 1998, the Ministry of Administrative Reform formulated the establishment of a code of ethics for public employees and planned to distribute it to government agencies as of 1999.

The ethical values and standards of public office include commitment to office working hours, observance of work rules and regulations, honesty, neutrality, efficiency, treatment of all citizens equally, provision of guidance to customers, simplification of procedures, safe guarding public funds and assets and performance of public duties in the shortest possible time.

Despite the formal and informal arrangements to institutionalize and regulate ethical standards and norms of public employees, the majority of the prominent private sector leaders who were contacted by the study team complain about the gap between verbal commitment to ethical norms and their actual abuse in real life by many employees.

The actual implementation of the above values and standards by public employees indicates that many of them are not committed to these values and standards. Indicators of non-commitment include reporting late to work, non-observance of work rules and regulations, misuse of office working hours, delay in processing files, unequal treatment of citizens, corruption and bribery and leakage of sensitive and important information. The reports of the Bureau of Audit and the Anti-Corruption Department abound with corruption cases, abuse of authority, biases and nepotism concerning some tenders.

15

In addition there is a considerable amount of misuse of public funds including unnecessary spending practices such as attending non-essential conferences outside Jordan, repeated travel trips by same persons, lack of attention to training courses by many employees, abuse of public assets and facilities such as the personal use of public vehicles.

16

Some employees display a superiority complex in their dealings with citizens, which result in delayed processing of their files, complicating their business and failing to provide them with the required information.

Many officials are biased in the evaluation of their subordinates due to interference of personal factors and the absence of fairness in dealings with others. The absence of institutionalization, lack of job descriptions, and the assignment of inadequate persons in public jobs contribute to non-compliance with the ethical values of public jobs.

Few of the private sector leaders feel that ethical values and standards generally bind public employees while practicing their duties and responsibilities. Naturally, there are exceptions to every rule. Fortunately the ratio of the exceptions is small, and when they are found, they are due to arbitrary considerations.

Source: Jordan Institute of Public Administration - Civil Service Reform for Sustainable Human.. (1999) (edited)

The new civil service Bylaw, adopted by the Government in May 2002, contains a code of ethics for public employees.

Source: World Bank - Implementation Completion Report (6/2003)

66.. ee--GGoovveerrnnmmeenntt

e-Government Readiness Index: The index refers to the generic capacity or aptitude of the public sector to use ICT for encapsulating in public services and deploying to the public, high quality information (explicit knowledge) and effective communication tools that support human development. The index is comprised of three sub-indexes: Web Measure Index, Telecommunications Infrastructure Index and Human Capital Index.

6.1 e-Government Readiness

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

Jorda

n

Cyprus

Israe

l

Leba

non

Oman

Syrian

AR

Turkey

Yemen

e-Government Readiness Index

Source: United Nations – World Public Sector Report 2003

Web Measure Index: A scale based on progressively sophisticated web services present. Coverage and sophistication of state-provided e-service and e-product availability correspond to a numerical classification.

Telecommunications Infrastructure Index: A composite, weighted average index of six primary indices, based on basic infrastructural indicators that define a country's ICT infra-structure capacity. Primary indicators are: PC’s, Internet users, online population and Mobile phones. Secondary indicators are TVs and telephone lines.

Human CapitaA composite ofgiven to adult li

3

00.10.20.30.40.50.60.70.80.9

1

Jorda

n

Cyprus

Israe

l

Leba

non

Oman

Syrian

AR

Turkey

Yemen

Web Measure Index Telecom. Infrastructure Index Human Capital Index

Source: United Nations – World Public Sector Report 200

17

l Index: the adult literacy rate and the combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio, with two thirds of the weight teracy and one third to the gross enrolment ratio.

6.2 e-Participation

18

0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3

0.35

0.4

Jord

an

Cypru

s

Israe

l

Leban

on

Oman

Syrian

AR

Turkey

Yemen

e-Participation Index

Source: United Nations – World Public Sector Report 2003

e-consultation:

The government website explains e-consultation mechanisms and tools. It offers a choice of public policy topics online for discussion with real time and archived access to audios and videos of public meetings. The government encourages citizens to participate in discussions.

e-decision making:

The government indicates that it will take citizens input into account in decision making and provides actual feedback on the outcome of specific issues.

e-Participation Index:

Refers to the willing-ness, on the part of the government, to use ICT to provide high quality informa-tion (explicit know-ledge) and effective communication tools for the specific purpose of empower-ring people for able participation in consultations and decision-making both in their capacity as consumers of public services and as citizens.

e-information:

The government websites offer information on policies and programs, budgets, laws and regulations, and other briefs of key public interest. Tools for dissemi-nating of information exist for timely access and use of public information, including web forums, e-mail lists, newsgroups and chat rooms.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Jord

an

Cypru

s

Israe

l

Leban

on

Oman

Syrian

AR

Turkey

Yemen

e-information e-decision making e-consultation

Source: United Nations – World Public Sector Report 2003

77.. LLiinnkkss

7.1 National sites

Authority Topic

Prime Ministry http://www.pm.gov.jo/

Parliament http://www.parliament.gov.jo

Ministry of Administrative Development http://www.adm.gov.jo/Ministry of Information and Communications Technology

http://www.moict.gov.jo

Ministry of Finance http://www.mof.gov.jo

Audit Bureau http://www.audit-bureau.gov.jo/

Civil Service Bureau http://www.csb.gov.jo

Jordan Institute for Public Administration http://www.jipa.gov.jo/

National Information Center http://www.nic.gov.jo/

Department of Statistics http://www.dos.gov.jo/

7.2 Miscellaneous sites

Institution Topic

Arab Administrative Development Organization (ARADO)

http://www.arado.org.eg/

Arab Election Law Compendium http://www.arabelectionlaw.net

Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development http://www.arabfund.org/

Arab Social Science Research http://www.assr.org/countries/jordan/index.html

European Union (EU) http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/jordan/intro/index.htm

International Labour Organization (ILO) http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.home

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) http://www.undp-jordan.org/UNDP - Programme on Governance in the Arab Region (POGAR)

http://www.undp-pogar.org/countries/jordan/index.html

UNPAN http://www.unpan.org/virtual_library-byregion.asp

World Bank (WB) http://www.worldbank.org/jo

19