Amman, Nov. 5 (Petra) – Secretary-General of the Jordanian National Commission for Women, Maha Ali, and Commissioner-General for Human Rights, Jamal Shamayleh, took part in a regional workshop titled "Family Courts in the Arab World: Current Conditions, Challenges, and Ways to Improve Them," held in Beirut, Lebanon.
According to a Commission’s statement issued Wednesday, the event was organized by the Lebanese Foundation for Permanent Civil Peace and the Norwegian Center for Human Rights at the University of Oslo. It aimed to strengthen the judiciary’s role through enhanced judicial administration, upholding the rule of law, and ensuring fair and efficient trials.
The two-day workshop gathered representatives of judicial bodies, religious courts, human rights institutions, and civil society organizations from Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine to assess current realities, identify key challenges, and develop practical recommendations to improve judicial capacity and efficiency.
During a session on integrating human rights principles into family court practices, Ali underscored the Commission’s role in proposing legislation and policies that safeguard women’s rights, particularly in Sharia court proceedings, in line with the Jordanian Constitution.
She reviewed constitutional provisions affirming the family as the foundation of society and guaranteeing women’s empowerment and protection from violence and discrimination.
She also highlighted the 2017 Domestic Violence Protection Law and the Alimony Loan Fund Regulation No. 48 of 2015, which safeguards women’s rights and ensuring financial justice.
Ali highlighted the need for gender-sensitive court infrastructure, increased female judicial representation, and public awareness of legal rights, while commending civil society efforts in providing free legal and psychosocial support.
For his part, Shmayleh highlighted the importance of integrating a rights-based approach into family courts, noting that personal status issues reflect the balance between individual rights and social values. He said the National Center for Human Rights plays a key role in monitoring and developing legislation to align with constitutional and international human rights standards.
He called for strengthening justice in cases involving women, children, and the elderly, and for streamlining litigation procedures to ensure timely resolution and protect litigants’ dignity.
The Center, he said, also has worked to integrate international human rights standards into training courses for relevant stakeholders in areas such as fair trial guarantees, the right of access to justice, and raising awareness of relevant international conventions.
//Petra// NQ
