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We, Abdallah II Ibn Al-Hussein, King of the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan, and according to Clause (1) of Article 94 of the Constitution, based on the decisions taken by the Council of Ministers on 12 June 2003, hereby approve-according to Article 31 of the Constitution- of the following provisional law, and order to issue and implement this law temporaily, and add it to the State laws for Presentation to the Parliament's forthcoming first meeting:- |
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This law is called “Chambers of Commerce Law for 2003” and will go into effect on the date of its publication within the Official Gazette.
The following words and phrases will have the following meanings wherever they occur hereinafter unless otherwise indicated: Ministry: Ministry of Industry and Trade. Minister: Minister of Industry and Trade. Chamber: Chamber of Commerce. Board: Chamber Board of Directors. Chairman: Chairman of the Board. Chambers of Commerce: Any Chamber mentioned in Article 23 of this Law. Trade: Land and marine trade activities according to the rules of the current Trade Law with the exception of industry, mining, oil, and electricity. Trade Sector: Overall public Companies and corporations operating in one or more types of trade as determined by the regulations issued according to the clauses of this law. Trade Firm: Any individual company or firm mainly involved in the trade sector, and whose registered capital is five thousand Jordan Dinars or more. Small Firm: Any individual company or firm whose main purpose is trading, and is operating within a specific trade sector, and whose registered capital is less than five thousand Jordan Dinars.
a : A chamber called "Jordan Chamber of Commerce" will be established in the kingdom and will enjoy a legal personality along with financial and administrative independence. In such capacity, the Jordan Chamber of Commerce is authorized to own movable assets and real estate and carry out all the necessary legal actions which include signing contracts, loans and, receiving assistance, grants, and donations. The Jordan Chamber of Commerce has the right to litigation and may be represented by any lawyer appointed for this purpose in terms of carrying out judicial procedures.
b. The Chamber will be headquartered in Amman.
The Chamber aims at achieving the following:
a. Participating in drawing up policies related to trade sector, strategies, and plans needed for implementing such policies and strategies.
b. Participating in trade development and promotion.
c. Taking care of trade firms and small enterprises.
d. Promoting cooperation between the Chambers of Commerce on the one hand, and the Arab and foreign Federations and Chambers of Commerce, on the other hand.
e. Consolidating the capabilities of Chambers of Commerce and coordinating their efforts.
In order to achieve its objectives, the Chamber will do the following:
a. Representing trade firms, small enterprises, and Chambers of Commerce before any official or unofficial authority within the Kingdom or abroad.
b. Participating along with relevant authorities in organizing trade and economic conferences as well as local, Arab, and international activities which are of commercial and economic nature
c. Conducting, publishing, and updating trade-related studies and research
d. Gathering, classifying and updating information and statistics related to trade, providing merchants with such information and statistics and building an information center for providing the most updated programmes pertaining to trade and economics in cooperation with Jordanian, Arab, and international information centers, and in coordination with Chambers of Commerce.
e. Presenting proposals related to current legislations, draft laws, and regulations involving trade and the economy.
f. Presenting technical, technological, trade, and economic consultations, and seeking assistance from both experts, and economists for this purpose.
g. Any other tasks related to the above-mentioned objectives.
The Chamber consists of a General Assembly and a Board of Directors
The General Assembly of the Chamber consists of the heads and members of the Chambers Boards of Directors along with four representatives of each trade sector elected from members registered in that sector, provided that one of them shall be the one referred to in Item (2) of Clause (a)/Article (14) of this Law.
The Chamber’s General Assembly will exercise the following authorities:
a. Debating the Chamber’s policy submitted by the Board of Directors.
b. Approving the Chamber’s annual draft budget.
c. Approving the annual report on the Board of Directors’ activities long with the Chambers’ final accounts and general budget.
d. Appointing a certified auditor to audit the Chamber’s accounts, and specifying that auditor’s fees.
e. Debating issues submitted by the Board of Directors and making the proper recommendations.
a. The General Assembly will hold at least one ordinary meeting a year according to the venue and time determined by the Board of Directors. The quorum will be achieved by the presence of at least two thirds of the members, and in case this quorum is not realized within one hour from the time set for the meeting, this meeting will be postponed for fifteen days from the date of the first meeting. It will be sufficient to publish invitations for the meeting twice in two local daily newspapers and the quorum for the second meeting will be valid regardless of the number of attendants.
b. The General Assembly will take decisions during ordinary meetings on the basis of no less than majority of votes of attending members.
A. The General Assembly may hold an extraordinary meeting to look into certain issues in either one of the following cases:
1. If the Board of Directors deems such meeting is necessary.
2. According to a written request submitted to the Board of Directors by at least 25% of the General Assembly members. In this case, the Board of Directors should invite the General Assembly to a meeting in twenty business days from the date of receiving this request provided that this invitation includes an agenda for the meeting.
b. No issues may be discussed other than those for which the extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly has been held unless such issues are relevant or ramifications thereof.
c. In the General Assembly’s extraordinary meetings, decisions will be taken on the basis of no less than 75% majority of attending voters.
Invitations for holding General Assembly meetings will be communicated through registered mail, and will also be announced only once in two local daily newspapers at least fifteen days prior to the date of such meeting, provided that those invitations will include an agenda for the meeting.
The General Assembly’s meeting will be held under the chairmanship of the chairman or (in his absence) vice-chairman, and if both are absent the General Assembly will elect a chairman for the meeting.
In the event that the General Assembly has not completed discussions of all items on the agenda, the Chairman of the meeting may, with the majority’s approval, postpone the meeting to another date that will be decided during the session, and there will be no need for a new invitation for a General Assembly meeting according to the duly followed principles of this law.
a. The Chamber's affairs will be run by a Board of Directors which consists of the following:
1. Chairman of the Board of Directors for each Chamber of Commerce, or, in his absence, Vice-Chairman if the number of member trade firms of that Chamber of Commerce is less than a certain number as determined by regulations issued on the basis of the clauses hereinafter.
2. Representative of every trade sector elected by trade firms registered in this sector according to the rules of this law.
3. One or more additional representatives chosen by the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce representing a number of trade firms in excess of that indicated in Item (1) of this clause, provided that such number of trade firms will be determined according to the above-mentioned regulation in Item (1) of this clause.
b. In the event that the trade firm indicated in Item (2) of clause (a) in this article operates in more than one trade sector, then the trade firm will be represented in one trade sector which it should select for this purpose.
A board member must meet the following conditions:
a. He/she must be of Jordanian nationality.
b. He/she must have paid fees and subscriptions to Chamber of Commerce of which he/she is a member.
c. He/she must be a chairman of the Board of Directors of a commercial firm which is a member of the General Assembly of any Chamber of Commerce, or a Chairman of the Managing Committee of that firm, or one of its owners, or a member of its Board of Directors or Managing Committee.
d. He/she must not have been indicted for crime or felony as a result of violating honor and moral values, nor should he/she be indicted for bankruptcy unless he/she has been reinstituted.
a. The Board of Directors will serve for a term of four years.
b. In their first meeting, Board members will elect a chairman, vice-chairman, Board Secretary, and treasurer.
The Board of Directors will carry out the following tasks and responsibilities:
a. Drawing up, overseeing, and implementing the chamber’s policy, and work plan.
b. Running the Chamber’s administrative and financial affairs.
c. Achieving the Chamber’s objectives and tasks.
d. Taking care of merchants’ interests and defending their rights.
e. Calling the General Assembly to ordinary and extraordinary meetings and discussing its recommendations.
f. Endorsing instructions related to the Chamber’s administrative and financial affairs including instructions pertaining to supplies.
g. Forming the necessary committees for implementing the clauses of this law and regulations issued in line with this law, and designating the tasks of each committee based on the decision taken to form the relevant committee.
h. Forming the Chamber’s Executive office on a biannual basis headed by the chairman and made up of six members from the Board of Directors equally divided between the Chambers of Commerce and the trade sectors for the purpose of implementing the tasks designated or authorized by the Board of Directors.
i. Resolving disputes that may arise between chambers of commerce or between the chambers on the one hand, and trade and small firms on the other hand, or any other Jordanian or non-Jordanian authorities through an amicable settlement or arbitration.
j. Participating hand in hand with the competent authorities in preparing draft laws and legislations related to trade and economy.
k. Appointing the chamber’s employees and determining their salaries, terms of employment, and terminating their services according to instructions issued by the Boord of Directors for this purpose.
l. Taking care of any other matters that lead to achieving the objectives of the Chamber and the trade sector in the Kingdom.
The Board of Directors will meet according to an invitation by the chairman or (in his absence) by the vice-chairman at least once a month or on the basis of a written request submitted to the chairman by 25% of Board members. The quorum for the Board meetings will be achieved by the presence of the majority of members provided that decisions are taken on the basis of at least the majority of attending voters. A member who votes against such decisions is required to provide a written confirmation of his disagreement explaining the reasons.
In the event that the term of the Board expires and a new Board connote be elected for reasons deemed by the Minister as force majeure, the present Board of Directors will continue to function until these reasons are eliminated and a new Board of Directors is elected according to the clauses of this law along with the rules and instructions issued to that effect.
a. In case a Board member’s position becomes vacant owing to death, resignation or declaration of bankruptcy, or bankruptcy of the commercial firm which he represents, or failure to attend three consecutive sessions without a legitimate excuse, or loss of membership, such member will be replaced for the remaining period of the Board term by the next person in line in terms of the number of votes received in the elections, or the person chosen by the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors according to the clauses of Article "14" herein and as deemed necessary. If this cannot be done for any reason whatsoever, the minister will choose someone to replace that member for the remaining period of the Board term.
b.1. In the event that the Board loses quorum or is dissolved according to a decision taken by the Council of Ministers based on the minister’s recommendation in line with the public interest requirements, the Council of Minister will form-as recommended by the Minister-a provisional committee for running the Chamber’s affairs until a new Board of Directors is formed according to the clauses herein during the period determined by the Council of Ministers. According to the minister’s recommendation, and for justifiable reasons, the Council of Ministers may extend the period mentioned in item (1) of this clause.
The Chamber’s fiscal year begins on the first day of January of each year and expires on the 31st day of December of the same year. But the first fiscal year begins on the foundation date of the chamber and expires on the 31st day of December of the same year.
The Chamber’s financial resources consist of the following:
a. A portion of chambers of commerce revenues which have to be determined along with their method of collection according to regulations issued in line with this law.
b. Investment returns and funds.
c. Grants, assistance, donations and any other resources received provided that the Council of Minister’s approval has been obtained for such resources in case they are extended by a non-Jordanian source.
d. Any other resources approved by the Board of Directors.
Chambers of Commerce in the Kingdom consist of the following:
a. Chambers of Commerce established according to the Chambers of Commerce and Industry Law no. 41 for 1949, and these are:
1. Amman Chamber of Commerce
2. Irbid Chamber of Commerce
3. Zarqa’ Chamber of Commerce
4. Aqaba Chamber of Commerce
5. Salt Chamber of Commerce
6. Jerash Chamber of Commerce
7. Mafrq Chamber of Commerce
8. Kerak Chamber of Commerce
9. Tafilah Chamber of Commerce
10. Madaba Chamber of Commerce
11. Ma’an Chamber of Commerce
12. South Mazar Chamber of Commerce
13. South Shooneh Chamber of Commerce
14. Rusaifah Chamber of Commerce
15. Ramtha Chamber of Commerce
b. Ajloun Chamber of Commerce established according to cluses of this low.
Chambers of Commerce enjoy a legal personality and a financial and administrative independence. In this capacity, they are entitled to own movable and fixed assets and carry out all legal procedures needed for achieving their objectives including signing contracts, obtaining loans, receiving assistance, grants, and donations. Chambers are also entitled to the right of litigation and may be represented in terms of judicial procedures by any lawyer they appoint for this purpose.
a. Subject to Clause “B” of this article, commercial and small business firms, including firms within the Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZ), are committed to join the Chamber of Commerce located in the area where their shops exist. Anyone of those firms shall be considered as one member regardless of the number of shops owned anywhere in the Kingdom.
b. Small enterprises shall not participate in discussing any internal affairs falling within the jurisdictions and authorities of the Chamber of Commerce General Assembly of which these enterprises are members including the right to elect and vote.
a. Within the framework of its specialization, the Chamber of Commerce seeks to achieve the following:
1. Taking care of the interests of member small firms and representing such firms within the Chamber.
2. Consolidating ties of cooperation between chambers of commerce members.
3. Participating in promoting local trade products.
b. In order of implement its objectives, tasks and prenogatives, the Chamber of Commerce will carry out the following:
1. Issuing Certificates of Origin for different products, validation of invoices, signatures, guarantees, and commercial documents; taking into consideration the chambers of industry law in effect.
2. Participating in or conducting necessary training in order to upgrade trade, trade firms, and small enterprises.
3. Participating in encouraging investment in its competent domain of specialization.
4. Participating in the services extended to the local community.
5. Seeking to settle disputes that may arise between Chamber’s members or between them and merchants or with members of other chambers of commerce through amicable settlement or arbitration.
a. The locational framework for the Chambers of Commerce jurisdiction shall be determined according to a decision issued by the Council of Ministers on the basis of the Minister’s Recommendation.
b. The Chambers of Commerce may open offices within the area of their locational jurisdiction according to regulations issued in line with this law.
a. Each Chamber of Commerce shall consist of a General Assembly and Board of Directors.
b. The General Assembly of each Chamber of Commerce shall consist of the member commercial firms which have paid incurred financial obligations.
c. The General Assembly of each Chamber of Commerce shall be responsible for exercizing the following tasks and authorities:
1. Electing their Board of Directors
2. Discussing the annual report of their Board of Directors.
3. Approving final accounts and the general budget.
4. Appointing a certified auditor for auditing their accounts.
5. Looking into applications and proposals which General Assembly members submit to the Chamber’s Board of Directors at least ten days prior to the date of the meeting.
6. Exercizing administrative and financial control over the activities of its Board of Directors.
a. The Board of Directors of each Chamber of Commerce shall consist of nine members who are elected by its General Assembly according to this Law and regulations issued accordingly.
The Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors will assume the following tasks and authorities:
a. Running administrative and financial affairs of the Chamber of Commerce.
b. Drawing up the Chamber of Commerce organizational structure, and submitting same to the General Assembly for approval.
c. Implementing the Chamber of Commerce objectives and tasks.
d. Drawing up the draft annual budget, general budget, final accounts, and annual report and submitting all to the General Assembly for approval.
e. Hiring the Chamber of Commerce employees and determining their salaries, terms of employment, and terminating their services.
Notwithstanding Article 23 of this low, the Council of Ministers may, according to the Minister’s proposal based on the Council’s recommendation, dissolve any Chamber of Commerce in the event that they suffer from bad financial and administrative conditions. In this case, funds, assets, rights, and liabilities will be the property of the Chamber.
The Chamber of Commerce shall be subject to the following regulations pertaining to the Chamber and as indicated herein:
a. Board membership conditions and vacancies
b. Loss of quorum or dissolution of the Board of Directors
c. Board of Directors meetings.
d. General Assembly meetings
e. Beginning and expiry of the fiscal year.
The Minister shall form committees for managing the Chamber along with other Chambers of Commerce as required until elections stipulated herein are held no later than six months from the date on which this Law goes into effect. This period can be extended according to a decision taken by the Minister.
The Minister shall be the competent authority insofar as the Chamber and other Chambers of Commerce are concerned.
The Council of Ministers shall issue regulations needed for implementing this Law including the following:
a. Chambers of Commerce membership fees collected from trade and small business firms.
b. Identifying financial resources of the Chambers of Commerce.
c. Specifying fees collected from trade firms and small businesses for endorsing invoices, certificates of origin, guarantees, and other certificates and documents.
d. Organizing the works of the Chamber and other Chambers of Commerce including financial and administrative affairs.
e. Regulations and procedures related to any elections organized according to this law including candidacy requirements and duration.
The Minister will issue instructions needed for implementing the regulations of this law which will be published in the Official Gazette.
a. The Chambers of Commerce and Industry Law no. 41 for 1949 and amendment made thereupon shall be cancelled, and no text of any other legislation shall be applied insofar as it contradicts the regulations of this Law.
b. As of the date this Law goes into effect, the Chamber shall be the legal and actual heir to the Federation of Jordanian Chambers of Commerce, and shall replace the Federation in terms of all Federation’s rights and liabilities. The Chamber will also replace the Federation insofar as any other public or private authority or party is concerned and where there is any effective legislation which provides for representing the Federation.
The prime Minister and other Ministers are requested to implement this Law.
12 June 2003 Abdallah the Second Ibn Al-Hussein
Prime Minister & Minister of Defense: Engineer: Ali Abul Raghib
Deputy Prime Minster & Minister of Justice: Faris Al-Nabilsi
State Ministry for Prime Ministry Affairs:
Mustafa Al-Qaisi
State Minister for Political Affairs & Information Minister: Dr. Moh’d Affash Al-Udwan
Minster of Municipal Affairs: Dr. Abdul Razzaq Tbeishat
Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research & Acting Minister of Education: Dr. Moh’d Hamdan
Minister of Communications and Information Technology: Dr. Fawwaz Hatim Al-Zu’bi
Minister of Public Works and Housing: Engineer: Husni Abu Ghaida
Minister of Finance: Michael Marto
Minister of Administrative Development & Minister of the Environment: Dr. Moh’d Al-Thneibat.
Minister of Transport & Minister of Tourism and Antiquities: Nadir Al-Thahabi
Minister of Water and Irrigation: Dr. Hazim Al-Nasser
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources: Engineer: “Moh’d Ali” Al-Bataineh
Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs and Holy places: Dr. Ahmad Hilayyil
State Minister for Foreign Affairs & Acting Fereign Minister: Shahir Bak
Minister of Industry and Trade: Dr. Salah Al-Din Al-Bashir
Minister of Labour Engineer: Muzahim Al-Muhaisin
Minister of Planning: Dr. Basim Awadhallah
Minister of Culture: Haidar Mohmoud
Minister of Health: Dr. Waleed Al-Ma’ani
Minister of Interior: Quftan Al-Majali
Minister of Social Development: Dr. Ruweidah Al-Ma’aytah
Minister of National Economy & State Minister: Moh’d Samir Al-Tawil
Minister of Agriculture: Trad Al-Fayiz
