Upper, Lower Houses resolve dispute over scrapping, merging public agencies

AMMAN — Both Houses of Parliament on Tuesday agreed to merge  the Insurance Regulatory Commission with the Trade Ministry and to keep the Ombudsman Bureau as an independent institution.

Senators and deputies endorsed these decisions at a joint session held to resolve their dispute over the draft law that seeks to restructure independent public agencies.

The lawmakers endorsed the entire bill after they ended their disagreement over certain provisions.

Last year, the Lower House concluded deliberations over the draft bill cancelling certain institutions and merging others, and keeping some agencies independent.

However, the Senate did not agree to the cancellation of five independent institutions, introducing amendments to the Lower House’s decisions.

In September last year, deputies approved the Senate’s amendments to maintain the status of the National Information Technology Centre and the Agricultural Risks Management Fund for their “importance and satisfactory performance”.

But they stressed the need to reduce the number of independent institutions to decrease the burden on the budget, insisting on their previous decision to scrap the Insurance Regulatory Commission and the Ombudsman Bureau.

The joint session was held to resolve the dispute in line with Article 92 of the Constitution, which reads: “Should either House twice reject any draft law and the other accept it, whether or not amended, both the Senate and the Chamber shall hold a joint meeting under the chairmanship of the president of the Senate to discuss the matters in dispute.” 

“Acceptance of the draft law shall be conditional upon the passing of a resolution by a two-thirds majority of the members of both Houses present. If the draft law is rejected as described above, it shall not be placed again before the House during the same session.”

With Tuesday’s session, the 17th Parliament now holds the record for the highest number of joint sessions at four. The meeting was the 14th such session over the course of 67 years, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The 16th and 13th parliaments each held three joint sessions.