Criminal
The Penal Code 1960, with state security courts alongside the ordinary system
The Penal Code No. 16 of 1960 is the general criminal statute. The State Security Court, a partly military tribunal, retains jurisdiction over terrorism, espionage and drug offences. The death penalty is retained and occasionally carried out.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National, with the State Security Court taking defined categories of case.
Governing law
- Penal Code No. 16 of 1960, as amended
- Criminal Procedure Law No. 9 of 1961
- State Security Court Law No. 17 of 1959
- Anti-Terrorism Law No. 55 of 2006, as amended in 2014
In practice
Jordan repealed the provision allowing a reduced sentence for so-called honour killings in 2017 amendments, and removed the article that exempted a rapist who married his victim — both meaningful reforms. The continuing structural criticism concerns the State Security Court, whose panels include military judges and whose jurisdiction over broadly drafted terrorism offences has been extended to speech-related conduct. Administrative detention under the 1954 Crime Prevention Law, which allows governors to detain without charge, is used at scale and sits outside the criminal process entirely; it is the feature most often missed in a purely code-based reading.