MPs urged to ‘Google it’ in discussions over international conventions

AMMAN — Lawmakers on Sunday approved two draft laws regarding patents and began discussing the amended bill of the civil aviation law during two Lower House legislative sessions.

One of the lawmakers’ mandating reasons for the approved patents law was to bring the law in line with international conventions, of which Jordan is a signatory.

MP Saleh Armouti (Amman, 3rd District) said “lately we have been relying on conventions and treaties as a basis for legislation”, claiming that this approach amounted to a form of “colonisation”. 

Minister of Justice Awad Mashagbeh said in his response that “the international treaties and conventions which the Kingdom has approved are solid parts of the legislative process”.

“Having legislation that complies with international conventions and treaties is a way for Jordan to fulfil its international obligations,” the minister added. 

The temporary patents law is intended to meet Jordan’s obligations as a member of the World Trade Organisation and seeks to regulate the relationship between the inventor and the employer in accordance with international law.

During the second session, MPs discussed and approved five articles of the civil aviation law, which also aims to fulfil Jordan’s obligations in international treaties.

MPs expressed their frustration due to a lack of understanding of the terms of the Chicago Convention (CC) on civil aviation.

Minister of State for Prime Ministry Affairs Mamdouh Abbadi responded by saying  that “it is not the government’s obligation to provide explanations of conventions unless an official letter from the MPs is addressed to the government”.

“Deputies should resort to Google to understand what the CC is and what are its terms,” Abbadi added.

Armouti said “it is catastrophic to approve a law in which the CC has been mentioned many times, without reviewing its terms”.         

Deputy Ahmad Riqib (Amman, 4th District) said “we [MPs] need to view and study the conventions that affect the legislation of laws”.

He also addressed the effect of noise pollution from civil aviation on some residential areas. 

MP Manal Dmour (Karak) explained that the CC resolutions were adopted by Jordan in 1947.

The CC established the International Civil Aviation Organisation, a specialist UN agency charged with coordinating and regulating international air travel. 

The convention establishes rules of airspace, aircraft registration and safety, and details the rights of signatories in relation to air travel.