Jordanian cabinet calls for constitutional interpretation of draft civil retirement

The Cabinet has decided to resort to the Constitutional Court to seek an interpretation of the amended draft of the civil retirement law which was approved by the Parliament. The decision was taken during its session on September 24.
In a letter to the president of the Constitutional Court, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said what needs to be interpreted is whether the period of membership in the Parliament should be subject to civil retirement and whether a law that has financial implications should be retroactively valid.
The Cabinet's decision was based on the royal directives that were included in the letter of His Majesty King Abdullah II to the prime minister on September 15, advocating rejection of the 2014 amended draft civil retirement law.
In his letter, the King said that the debate triggered by the law, approved during a joint Parliament session last week, suggests that its constitutionality was suspect, and urged the government to refer it to the said court and then carry out a thorough study to come up with a "realistic solution" that ensures justice for all, taking into consideration the difficult economic situation and budgetary strains.
The Cabinet's decision to resort to the Constitutional Court was based on paragraph 2 of Article 59 of the Jordanian Constitution of 1952.