Jordan

Due to the ever increasing globalization economic and commercial development in Arab countries continue to grow. This enhances the need for updated Arbitration laws, upgraded till the requirements of the businesses involved in international trade. Jordan acceded to the New York Convention on 15 November, 1979.
International arbitration in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is governed by Law No. 31 of 2001. The Jordanian Arbitration Law has been amended several times since its entry into force on 16 July 2001. Recent amendments were introduced in 2018. The amended Arbitration Law brought more clarity compared to the previous versions of the Arbitration Law.
The Jordanian Arbitration Law applies to arbitration conducted in the Kingdom of Jordan and to arbitration where the parties have agreed that the arbitration shall be subject to this Law, irrespective of the nature of the legal relationship giving rise to a dispute (Article 3(a) of the Jordanian Arbitration Law).
According to Article 9 b of the Jordanian Arbitration Law “arbitration is not permitted in matters on which compromise is not allowed”. Thus Article 10 d stipulates that “notwithstanding the provisions of any other legislation and without affecting the previous legal positions prior to the date of enactment of this amended[sic] law, any previous agreement to arbitrate shall be considered void in the following matters [contracts]:
1. Consumer contracts prepared on standard forms of agreement
2. Employment Contracts.
According to Article 13 of the Jordanian Arbitration Law, “it is not incompatible with an arbitration agreement for a party to request, before or during arbitral proceedings, from a “Judge of Summary Matters” that a provisional or conservatory measure be taken in accordance with the “Law of Civil Procedures” and such measure may be withdrawn in the same manner.
The Competent Court decides on the application for challenges of the arbitrators. According to Article 18 a “the application for challenge, along with the attachments shall be submitted in writing to the arbitral tribunal, stating therein the reasons for the challenge, within fifteen days from the date the applicant becomes aware of the constitution of the arbitral tribunal or [from the date he/it becomes aware] of the circumstances justifying the challenge. Unless the challenged arbitrator withdraws from his office, the challenged arbitrator shall respond to the application (and the attachments) within fifteen days from the date of the submission of the application and the arbitral tribunal in this case shall upon a request of the applicant refer the application along with the challenged arbitrator’s response to the Competent Court to decide on the matter. b. Unless it decides to the contrary, the application to challenge shall be decided by the Competent Court without hearings within thirty days from the date [it is registered] and its decision shall not be subject in any way to appeal.”
The Amended Law reconfirmed that the Arabic language shall be the default language applicable to the arbitral proceedings unless the parties agree otherwise as pursuant to Article 28 a “the arbitration shall be conducted in the Arabic language.”
Also, the Cassation Court has the authority to nullify the arbitral award and pursuant to Article 49 b “if the arbitral tribunal has not compiled with the conditions of the award in a manner affecting its content, or that the award was based on void arbitral proceedings affecting it, the Cassation Court seized the action for nullity shall, by its own initiative, nullify the award in respect of what is in its content violating public order in the Kingdom, or if the subject–matter of the dispute is not capable of being subject to arbitration.”
The Amended Law also reiterated the acceptance of affidavits, i.e., sworn statements of testimony, as evidence in arbitral proceedings. However, the Amended Law provided that should the opponent wish to cross examine the witness and the latter fails to appear before the arbitral tribunal, the entire affidavit must be ruled out as evidence.
As for experts` appointment, the Amended Law sets new conditions for the admission of expert reports where any of the parties to the arbitration submits such reports with their documentary evidence. The Amended Law introduces an option for the appointment of a juristic person (company) as an expert as opposed to solely an individual as was the case under the previous version of legislation. For the expert report to be admissible under the Amended Law, the submitting party must disclose the expert appointment letter, the scope of work/assignment of the expert, and the fees that were paid to them. (Article 32 f of the Jordan Arbitration Law). It is mandatory, under the Amended Law, to call the expert for questioning at the request of a party or should the tribunal so decide.
At the same time the Amended Law however provides that a decision to set aside an arbitration award does not affect the arbitration agreement unless such an agreement was in itself null and void. This consequently means that the disputing parties, in the event an arbitration award is set aside, can resort again to arbitration as a method of dispute resolution.
The Jordanian Arbitration Law with recent amendments provides a more modern and secure means of dispute resolution through arbitration in line with most internationally recognized arbitration practices and aligning arbitration rules with the principles of international trade to meet the requirements of the traders.
Through interpreting the texts of the Jordanian Arbitration Law with recent amendments, it appears that the judiciary interferes greatly in the procedures of arbitration, however, in the international trade contracts there is growing need of liberalization of legislation. Considering the increasing volume of trade, there is a growing need for arbitration as a dispute resolution method which offers many advantages, particularly in the context of large commercial transactions. That is why many states are on the path of improvement and update of their legislation on arbitration.
Traders have resorted to arbitration extensively because of their will to choose freely arbitral proceedings to achieve the purpose of international commerce better. Jordan is taking the path of liberalization of its legislation.