Founded 2014 | ||
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JACC Establishment
Jordan Anti-Corruption Commission (JACC) was established as an independent commission when His Majesty King Abdullah II stepped up the fight against corruption and directed the government to establish an independent body to coordinate with concerned authorities in the drafting and implementation of a general strategy to fight and prevent corruption, also in compliance with the requirements of the United Nations Convention against corruption, which was signed by Jordan on October 31st, 2003, approved by Law No. (28) for the year 2004 and published in the official gazette no. 4669; the ratification notification was deposited thereof to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. As a result, the Anti-Corruption Commission Law No. (62) for the year 2006 was issued and defined its objectives, tasks and authorities, and corruption acts; the law was amended by Law No. (10) for the year 2012 and was published in the official gazette no. 5151. The new amendments contained many legal articles about the protection of witnesses and experts and whistleblowers in corruption cases, in addition to granting JACC the authority to ask for annulation or rescindment of any contract or agreement or privilege obtained as a result of corruption offences, as well as cooperating in providing and requesting international legal assistance; the amendments excluded the public right of litigation and punishment and the recovery of proceeds of corruption from the statute of limitations. Later in 2014, the law was again amended by law No. (16) for the year 2014 and was published in the official gazette no. 5278. The amendments added three more crimes to those deemed as corruption in the JACC law which included money laundering, illicit enrichment, not declaring or not disclosing of investments or properties or benefits that may lead to conflict of interest if laws and regulations require that, of which personal benefits can be directly or indirectly gained for those who refrained from declaring or disclosing.
Contents
- JACC Establishment
- Scope of work
- Meaning of Logo Components
- Vision
- Mission
- Objectives
- Tasks and Authorities
- Corruption Offences According to JACC Law
- The National Anti Corruption Strategy
- Main purpose of the strategy
- The strategy was based on the following main principles
- Annual report for the year 2013
- References
Scope of work
JACC is the competent authority responsible for pursuing all those who breach the provisions of the Anti-Corruption Commission law, as well as drying up sources of corruption, raising citizen’s awareness of the negative effects of corruption on economic, social and political development and on Jordan’s credibility among investors and international agencies.
Meaning of Logo Components
Sun: symbol of truth, clarity and transparency.
Eagle head and body: a sign of readiness and preparedness
Eagle Eye: setting goals; the red color indicates the seriousness of committing a wrong act.
Green Spikes: symbolizes good intentions and safety.
Vision
An effective and efficient legislative, administrative and media system that fosters the principles of national integrity and entrenches citizens' trust in national institutions.
Mission
Develop and implement active policies to entrench the principles of national integrity through the activation of a culture that rejects corruption, and through developing effective mechanisms and strategies capable of draining the sources of corruption and curbing its spread in the community. Our mission also focuses on the participation and cooperation of all local public and private sectors, civil society organizations, regional and international institutions to take the necessary measures to prevent and eliminate all types of corruption.
Objectives
The Commission, in the scope of combating corruption, has the following objectives:
a) To draw up, implement and propose effective policies in coordination with concerned authorities regarding combat and prevention of corruption.
b) To detect all forms of corruption, including financial and administrative corruption, in addition to nepotism and favoritism, if constitute infringement of the rights of others and of public funds.
c) To ensure the principles of equality, equal opportunities and fairness.
d) To combat character assassination.
e) To cooperate in providing and requesting international legal assistance through the official channels, if the applicable conditions for such assistance are fulfilled.
Tasks and Authorities
The Commission shall, in pursuit of its objectives, undertake the following tasks and authorities:
a) Investigate financial and administrative corruption, uncover violations and breaches, gather evidences and information, initiate investigation and proceed with the necessary administrative and legal procedures.
b) Prosecute all those who commit any corruption act, seize their movable and immovable assets, impose a travel ban on them, request the relevant authorities to suspend them from work and stop their salaries, allowances and all financial entitlements if necessary, and amend or revoke any of the said decisions in accordance with the applicable legislations.
c) The Commission may initiate any necessary investigation in pursuit of any corruption case at its own discretion or based on a notification from any party. Should the findings of the investigation or inquiry reveal that the notice was false or malicious; the person who submitted the notice shall be referred to the competent judicial authorities in accordance with the applicable legal procedures.
Corruption Offences According to JACC Law
For the purposes of the JACC Law, the following shall be deemed as corruption:
a) Offences contrary to public office duties as stipulated in the Penal Code No. (16) of 1960 and any amendments thereof:
1. Bribery.
2. Embezzlement.
3. Exploitation of public post.
4. Abuse of Authority.
5. Breach of public office duties.
b) Offences contrary to the public trust as stipulated in the Penal Code No. (16) of 1960 and any amendments thereof:
1. Forgery and use of forged documents of all kinds.
2. Imitation of state seal and official signs.
3. Crimes related to cash and coins.
4. False certifications.
5. Identity theft.
c) Economic crimes as specified under the Economic Crimes Law No. (11) of 1993 and any amendments thereof.
d) Money Laundering.
e) Illicit Enrichment.
f) Not declaring or not disclosing of investments or properties or benefits that may lead to conflict of interest if laws and regulations require that, of which personal benefits can be directly or indirectly gained for those who refrained from declaring or disclosing.
g) Any act or refrainment, which may lead to the infringement of public funds.
h) The abuse of authority contrary to the provisions of the law.
i) The acceptance of nepotism and favoritism, which revokes a right or validates what is void.
j) All actions provided for in international agreements acceded to by the Kingdom, which relate to anti-corruption.
The National Anti-Corruption Strategy
Jordan has previously adopted a National Anti-Corruption Strategy for the period (2008 – 2012) that focused on 6 main objectives including “Strengthening the capacity of the ACC”, “Prevention of corruption”, “Education training and public awareness”, “Law enforcement”, “Coordinating anti-corruption efforts”, and “International cooperation”.
By the end of the time period, JACC, in collaboration with a group of international experts, commenced working on drafting the National Strategy for the period (2013 – 2017), that consisted of the following strategic objectives:
1. Raising awareness on corruption phenomenon and fighting efforts:
Corruption has negative impacts on the national economy and infrastructure, which triggers the need to unify efforts of all stakeholders in the public, private and third sector to raise awareness and provide comprehensive and correct information about the nature, extent and impacts of corruption and available anti-corruption measures.
2. Strengthening the prevention of corruption:
Prevention efforts require the collaboration of public, private and third sectors to entrench principles of integrity and good governance, activate internal control function and develop and implement codes of conduct in public sector institutions through the adoption of legislations, policies and effective and efficient work procedures.
3. Strengthening the capacity of the Anti-Corruption Commission
JACC is the competent authority responsible for raising awareness on corruption, taking necessary actions for prevention, investigating corruption cases and prosecute involved perpetrators. These tasks are challenging and require that the Anti-Corruption Commission has a clear role, appropriate capacity, efficient and transparent working processes and functional cooperation and coordination mechanisms with public, private and third sector institutions.
4. Activate community participation in the anti-corruption and integrity promoting activities:
Corruption jeopardizes citizens' fundamental rights, business activities and infrastructure of the society. Establishment of a functional anti-corruption regime requires the cooperation with and participation of the individuals, civil society, non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations and relevant private entities. Their involvement in the decision-making processes is essential when developing strategies, policies, standards and procedures designed to safeguard the integrity of the society as a whole.
5. Efficient investigation and prosecution procedures in corruption cases:
In Jordan, there are many authorities responsible for the investigation of corruption. Their competencies overlap and the legal framework constituting their mandates and roles in anti-corruption are not clear to the general public. Thus it is important for the due process of law and quality of the criminal process as a whole that the cooperation, exchange of information and coordination of activities is organized systematically between law enforcement, judiciary and other relevant authorities. It is also important to ensure that the personnel of these public institutions have potentiality and skills needed for the maintenance of an efficient anti-corruption regime.
6. Strengthen international cooperation in the fight against corruption:
Fighting corruption efforts require efficient and effective international cooperation to prevent corruption and recover the proceeds of corruption crimes. Therefore, it is important that Jordan continues its participation in regional and international efforts within the framework of international conventions and organizations working in the field of fighting corruption. International cooperation also includes the exchange of information in the areas of joint investigation and assets recovery. The national authorities responsible for the investigation of corruption crimes need to develop clear and swift mechanisms for mutual legal assistance and international exchange of information.
7. Develop national anti-corruption legislation to comply with international anti-corruption standards and requirements and ensure its efficient implementation
The anti-corruption legal framework within Jordan is to the most part in line with international standards. However, the legislation has to be amended and revised to ensure due process of law and compliance with the requirements based on the operational environment and international standards.
Main purpose of the strategy
The strategy aims at creating an proper environment that prevents corruption and consolidate community culture that reject all its forms by devising an advanced and effective administrative, legal and media framework cooperating with the public and private sectors as well as the civil society institutions. It also aims at boosting the capacity of all monitoring bodies responsible for combating financial and administrative corruption to strengthen people’s confidence in state institutions.
The strategy was based on the following main principles
- Strong political will to strengthen national integrity and the fight against corruption.
- The rule of law.
- Respect for human rights and avoid character assassination.
- Consolidating the principles of integrity on both personal and institutional levels.
- Transparency and accountability.
- Independence of the judiciary.
- Community participation.