EBRD provides judicial training in Jordan

AMMAN — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on Monday launched a series of training sessions for judges in Jordan as part of an initiative to develop capacity in commercial law.

The courses are being delivered under the EBRD’s legal transition programme which contributes to the improvement of the investment climate in the bank’s countries of operations by helping create an investor friendly, transparent and predictable legal environment, according to a statement.

They are the first EBRD legal courses in its countries of operations in the southern and eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region and are being rolled out under the auspices of Jordan’s Ministry of Justice.

The capacity-building training will cover three priority areas identified by the scientific committee of the Judicial Institute of Jordan (JIJ) — competition, intellectual property and enforcement of arbitration awards — all of which are important in a well-functioning market economy.

In this pilot training, EBRD will draw on and share lessons learned from dispute resolution and other judicial capacity-building projects it has implemented in many countries with transition economies over the last decade. 

Marie-Anne Birken, EBRD general counsel, said the ERBD is “proud to partner with the Judicial Institute of Jordan to conduct this training", she said, stressing on the importance of building up a knowledge base in these specific areas of law "especially at a time when the number of legal cases is growing in Jordan". 

"This sort of training will assist the Jordanian government in its efforts to develop a more transparent and effective legal system that supports the economy."

Jordan became a member of the bank in 2012 and to date the EBRD has committed US$422 million across 22 projects in various sectors of the economy. 

Within the SEMED region, the bank also invests in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.