Article 1
This law shall be known as the
Press and Publications Law for 1998 and shall be
effective as of its publication in the official
gazette.
Definitions:
Article 2
The following words and phrases
shall have the following relative interpretations
wherever they occur in the law unless otherwise
specified.
Ministry: The Ministry of
Information or the official department in charge of
information affairs.
Minister: The Minister of
Information or the minister who is in charge of media
affairs.
Department: The Press and
Publications Department (PPD)
Director: The Director of the
PPD
Association: The Jordan Press
Association (JPA)
*Person: The normal person or
the institution.
Publication: Any mean that
transcribes meanings, thoughts, ideas, or expressions
in words, letters or figures, or numbers, or symbols,
or pictures or drawings, or impressions, or
photocopies.
Periodical publications:
Journalistic or specialised publications of all kinds
that are issued regularly. They include:
a) journalistic
publications that include:
1) Daily publication &emdash; A
publication that is issued on a daily basis under a
specified name and issue numbers and is meant to be
distributed to the public;
2) Non-daily publication
&emdash; A publication that is issued on an irregular
basis once a week or with longer intervals and is
meant to be distributed to the public.
b) Specialised
publication &emdash; A publication that is specialised
in a certain domain and is delivered to concerned
individuals or the public as stipulated by its
licence;
c) Petra News Agency
bulletin &emdash; The bulletin that is prepared to
provide media means with news, information, articles,
pictures, drawings, whether that be on a daily, weekly
or monthly basis.
Journalism: The profession of
preparing and editing news, reports, features,
analyses, interviews, articles, and publishing them in
print or visual or audio media.
Journalist: Any individual that
meets the conditions as stipulated by the current JPA
law and is currently practising the journalism
profession in accordance with the law.
Foreign Correspondent: Any
individual, regardless of his nationality, who
practises the journalism profession for non Jordanian
media.
Printing press: The place and
equipment used to produce publications of any nature
throughout the different process. This definition does
not include typewriters and printers and photocopiers
that are not used for producing publications.
Publishing House: The
institution that prepares, produces and sells
publications.
Distribution House: The
institution that distributes or sells publications.
Publication and Distribution
House: Institution that undertakes both of the two
above mentioned tasks, publishing and distributing
simultaneously.
Bookstore: A commercial
enterprise licensed to sell books, writing utilities,
newspapers, magazines and other publications.
Research and Study Centre: An
Institution that carries out studies and research and
provides consultations in political, social, economic,
anthropological and cultural domains.
Polling Centre: An institution
that carries out research, the aim of which is to
survey public opinion trends concerning a particular
issue by means of questionnaires or other means.
Translation House: An
institution which carries out translation activities
from one language to another including simultaneous
interpretation services.
Advertisement and Promotional
Bureau: A bureau that undertakes advertisement and
promotion activities and produces and publishes or
broadcasts its material through any mean.
Rights and Obligations of the
Press
Article 3
The press is free and the
freedom of expression is guaranteed for every
Jordanian who has the right to express his/her opinion
freely, verbally, by writing, photographing, drawing
and other means of expression.
Article 4
The press practices its
profession freely regarding presenting news,
information, commentary, and contributes to the
dissemination of thought, culture, and science within
the framework of preserving freedoms, rights and
public duties and the respect of the right to
privacy.
Article 5
Publications should respect the
truth and are prohibited from publishing anything that
contradicts the principles of freedom and national
responsibility, human rights and the values of the
Arab Islamic Nation.
Article 6
Press freedoms include the
following:
a) informing the citizen of
events, ideas and information in all
fields;
b) allowing citizens, political
parties, professional associations, cultural, social
and economic societies to express their opinions,
thoughts and achievements in their different domains
of activities;
c) obtaining information, news,
and statistics that concern the citizen and analysing,
exchanging, commenting and publishing them;
d) periodicals and journalists
have the right to maintain the confidentiality of
their sources unless the court rules otherwise in the
course of criminal lawsuits.
Article 7
A mandatory Code of Conduct for
Journalists:
a) the preservation of public
freedoms, and the respect of individuals' rights,
freedoms, private lives and reputation;
b) freedom of thought, opinion
and expression and knowledge are rights of the press
and the public;
c) balanced presentation of
issues in an objective and comprehensive manner;
d) accuracy, integrity and
objectivity in presentation of news, analysis and
commentary;
e) abstaining from publishing
anything that may instigate violence, prejudice,
bigotry or of anything which invites racism,
sectarianism or provincialism.
Article 8
Concerned authorities will
facilitate the journalists' and researchers' access to
information regarding their projects, programmes and
plans.
Article 9
a) The PPD will regulate foreign
correspondents accreditation in accordance with the
regulations issued for this purpose on condition of
reciprocity;
b) Journalists are prohibited
from having a working relationship with any foreign
party outside the boundaries of the regulation
provided for by sub-article A of this article.
Article 10
a) Any individual who does not
meet the definition of journalist as stipulated in
this law is prohibited from practising journalism in
all its forms, including foreign correspondents, and
should not present himself as such;
b) Publications are prohibited
from employing individuals on a full-time basis,
excluding trainees, who are not defined as journalists
in accordance with the law;
c) Publications are prohibited
from employing government employees without permission
from the related department on the premise that this
permission will be renewed annually by the minister
through a request by the PPD director.
Licensing
Article 11
a) A licence for issuing a press
publication is granted to:
1) journalists;
2) the press company that was
established and registered for the purpose of issuing
a press publication which shall not have more than 25
per cent of its equity from foreign sources;
3) a legalised political party.
b) taking into consideration
paragraphs A) and B) of Article 13 of this law, press
companies that have equity with more than Jordanian
dinar (JD) one million can own more than one
publication;
c) the Council of Ministers,
upon the minister's recommendation will grant licenses
for publications to the following parties: 1) The
Jordan News Agency (Petra); 2) foreign news agencies
on the principle of reciprocity and on the condition
that the editor in chief is a Jordanian journalist.
Article 12
a) Application for a press
publication's licence will be submitted to the PPD
director with the following information:
1) name of the applicant, his
location of residence and his address;
2) the name of the publication,
the place of printing and issuance;
3) the type of publication
(daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly);
4) the type of material it
intends to publish (politics, literature, economics,
etc.);
5) the language(s) in which it
will be issued;
6) name of the chief editor.
b) if the application lacks any
of the above mentioned conditions, the PPD director
must inform the applicant within a period of two weeks
of the need to provide the needed documents. If the
applicant fails to provide the missing information
within a period of three months, the application is
null and void.
Article 13
Regardless of what was
stipulated in any other legislation, the conditions
for granting a licence for publications concerns the
minimum capital are the following:
a) the daily publication should
pay a minimum capital of JD500,000;
b) non-daily publications should
pay a minimum capital of JD150,000;
c) daily and non-daily
publications issued by political parties are exempted
from the equity required in paragraphs a) and b) of
this article.
Article 14
The owner of a periodical shall
submit a deposit or bank bond to the minister of
information. The deposit or bank bond must be
renewable to guarantee that fines or compensations or
fees be paid as follows:
1) JD100,000 for dailies;
2) JD50,000 for non-dailies;
3) JD20,000 for non-specialised
publications.
Article 15
a) applications for a
specialised publication are submitted to the PPD
director and should be based upon the application that
is prepared by the PPD for this purpose.
b) if the application is missing
any of the above conditions, the PPD director must
inform the applicant within a period of two weeks to
provide the required information. If the applicant
does not provide the missing information within a
period of three months, the application is considered
null and void.
Article 16
The licence of a specialised
publication is contingent upon equity of JD20,000
regardless of any other legislation.
Article 17
Exemptions to Articles 14 and 16
are the specialised publications issued by ministries,
government departments and institutions, universities
and private foundations that contribute to public
welfare as approved by the minister upon the
recommendation of the director.
Article 18
a) Applications for obtaining
licences for: printing press, distribution agencies,
publishing houses, study and research centres, polling
centres, translation offices or advertising and
promotional bureaux are submitted to the director;
b) Information and procedures
relevant to the application for a licence in paragraph
a) of this article including changes or modifications
regarding the content of the licence or the transfer
of the licence are defined by specific regulations
issued on the basis of this law;
c) If the application is missing
any of the above information, the PPD director must
inform the applicant within a period of two weeks to
provide the required information. If the applicant
fails to provide the missing information within a
period of three months, the application is considered
null and void.
Article 19
All institutions specified in
Article 18 of this law will have a responsible
director who meets the following requirements:
a) carries Jordanian nationality
and has a permanent residence within the Kingdom;
b) should not be convicted of
either a misdemeanor or a felony related to
dishonourable or immoral acts;
c) should not be a director of
any other foundation or institution;
d) should hold a degree and
have an experience to direct the foundation or the
institution that he intends to direct in accordance
with the regulations that the minister issues for this
purpose.
Article 20
a) The Council of Ministers upon
the minister's recommendation, will issue licenses for
press publications in a period not exceeding 30 days
from the date of application. The applicant will be
informed within 15 days of the licences approval;
b) The minister will decide,
upon the minister's recommendation on the licence of
the specialised publication's within 30 days of the
application submission and the applicant shall be
informed within a period not exceeding 15 days of the
minister's decision;
c) The minister shall decide on
granting license applications for institutions
mentioned in Article 18 of this law within 30 days of
submitting the application and the applicants will be
informed within a period not exceeding 15 days.
Article 21
In consideration of conditions
stipulated in this law, a licence is granted for a
press publication to the owner who can transfer this
licence in part or in whole to others on condition
that the PPD Director's prior permission is obtained
in accordance with the following:
a) that the party wishing to
cede ownership informs the director 30 days in advance
of the transfer;
b) the recipient of the licence
prescribes to the conditions of this law allowing
partial or whole ownership of a publication;
c) the recipient submits a
request to the director 30 days prior to the transfer
process;
d) the transfer process shall be
overseen by the PPD in accordance with directives
issued by the minister.
Article 22
Periodicals' licences are
considered null and void in the following instances:
a) if the periodical is not
published within 30 days of the granting of the
license;
b) if the periodical stops
publishing for three consecutive months;
c) if a monthly does not publish
for 12 consecutive months;
d) if a weekly does not publish
for 12 consecutive weeks;
e) if its owner transfers
ownership in part or in whole to a partner who does
not prescribe to Article 21 of this law;
f) if the conditions of the
issued licence have changed in terms of content or
jurisdiction without having prior permission from the
PPD director.
Article 23
If a publication owner's licence
for a press publication is terminated in accordance
with Article 22, he/she cannot submit an application
for a new license before the passage of at least a
year.
Regulations of periodicals
and publications
Article 24
a) Periodicals must depend on
financial support from legally-acknowledged sources
and are prohibited from receiving financial support or
directives from foreign parties or other countries;
b) The periodicals must provide
the PPD Director with a copy of its annual budget,
including information regarding financial sources and
financial status.
Article 25
The periodical's owner should
be:
a) A Jordanian national who have
permanent residence in Jordan;
b) He/She should never have been
convicted of a misdemeanour or felony related to
immoral or dishonourable acts.
Article 26
The name of a periodical's
owner, the chief editor who is responsible, place of
issue, date of issue, subscription rates, name of
printing house shall all be published in a clear place
within the publication. Any modifications or changes
must be reported to the PPD director within 15 days of
the modification or change.
Article 27
a) The press publication shall
have a responsible editor who will conform to the
following:
1) has Jordanian nationality and
has permanent residence in the Kingdom;
2) has worked in the field of
journalism for at least ten years;
3) is a member of the JPA;
4) is not a responsible editor
in another publication;
5) conducts no other work at the
publication where he/she is the responsible editor;
6) must be proficient in the
written and spoken language of the publication he is
responsible for, and if he is to head a multi-lingual
publication, he shall be proficient in the principle
language of the publication and have sufficient
knowledge of other languages;
7) never have been convicted of
a misdemeanour or felony related to immoral or
dishonourable acts;
b) With the exceptions of
provisions 1, 4, 6, and 7 of paragraph A of this
article these provisions are not applicable to chief
editors of political party publications;
c) Responsible editors are
liable for what is published in the publications they
head, as are owners of the publication, and the
writer(s) of the article;
d) Periodicals shall not have
more than one chief editor.
Article 28
a) Responsible chief editors are
absolved of the above-mentioned obligations at
publications they head if they:
1) resign;
2) no longer meet one or more
provisions of Article 27 of this law;
3) Do not go to work for two
consecutive months without a sufficient justification
submitted to the director of the PPD.
b) If any of the above-mentioned
of paragraph a) occur, the owner of the publication
must appoint a new responsible chief editor within 60
days.
Article 29
If the responsible editor is
changed, the owner of the publication bears complete
responsibility of what is published until the new
responsible editor assumes his post.
Article 30
For every specialised
publication there shall be a responsible editor in
accordance with the following:
1) a Jordanian national;
2) holds an academic degree in
the field directly related to the specialisation of
the journal or has no less than five years accredited
experience in the specified domain approved by the
minister upon recommendation of the PPD director;
3) never have been convicted of
a misdemeanour or felony related to immoral or
dishonourable acts.
Article 31
a) A specialised publication is
prohibited from publishing anything outside its
specified domain without prior permission from the
minister as requested by the PPD director;
b) Any specialised publication
is obligated to provide the PPD with five copies upon
the publication of each issue.
Article 32
a) If a publication publishes a
false news report or item that includes false
information, the party suffering the damages has the
right to reply to the report or item by demanding that
either their reply or a correction be published in the
same place on the following day and at no charge. The
responsible chief editor is obligated to comply;
b) If a publication publishes a
false news report or item that includes false
information relating to public interest, the
responsible chief editor will publish free of charge
the reply or correction that is sent from the related
party from the department director in the following
issue in the same place that the item appeared in the
publication;
c) These provisions and
paragraph c) of Article 54 of this law are applicable
to foreign media and their correspondents.
Article 33
The responsible chief editor has
the right to refuse publication of the reply or
correction provided for in Article 32 of this law in
the following situations:
a) If the publication has
published a news report correcting the false
information before the reply is sent to the
publication;
b) If the reply or correction is
signed with a false signature or is sent in a language
other than that of the news item;
c) If the content of the reply
violates the law or the general order or contradicts
public morals.
Article 34
a) If editors in charge of a
publication issued from outside the Kingdom but
distributed in the country refuses to publish the
reply or correction in accordance with Article 32 of
this law, the director of the PPD has the right to bar
the entrance of the publication to the Kingdom for two
weeks and can request a longer period from the
minister. The director also has the right to sue the
publication and its correspondents;
b) These provisions apply to any
foreign media.
Article 35
a) Responsible chief editors are
prohibited from publishing articles for individuals
with aliases unless they have knowledge of the
author's real name;
b) If a publication publishes
promotional features or news reports for any party for
money, the publication should clearly state that the
item is promotional material.
Article 36
a) Owners of bookstores or
distribution agencies or publishing houses must submit
two copies of each issue of a publication that they
received from outside of the Kingdom before
distribution or sale;
b) The director of the PPD has
the right to refuse the distribution or sale of the
mentioned items and prohibit the entrance of these
items to the Kingdom if they contain material that
contradict this law.
Article 37
The names of the author,
publisher and printing press, the date of publication
must appear clearly in the publication of each issue.
Article 38
The articles of this law do not
apply to publications imported by governmental
departments and institutions, universities, or
scientific research centres as long as prior
permission is obtained from the PPD director for their
entrance into the Kingdom and that they be located at
special places for the use of scientific research.
Article 39
The owner of the printing press
or its responsible director including printing presses
for newspapers comply with the following:
a) preserve a register showing
the publications in print and the number of printed
copies;
b) preserve register showing the
addresses of publications that it prints, names of
their owners and number of copies of each publication;
c) these registers will be
presented to the PPD director upon his request;
d) two copies of each
non-periodical publication will be submitted to the
PPD director prior to distribution.
Article 40
a) Two copies of any book that
is printed in the Kingdom must be submitted to the PPD
director prior to its printing. The director has the
right to approve or prohibit printing if the book
contains material that contradicts the law and must
inform the author of his decision within a period not
exceeding one month;
b) The PPD director has the
right to revoke licences for any book(s) or
manuscript(s) if its author(s) contradict a condition
of licence by adding or subtracting material and the
PPD director has the right to confiscate all copies.
Prohibitions
Article 41
a) Owners of printing presses
and their responsible directors are prohibited from
printing any publication that has been previously
banned from being printed, published, distributed or
sold. They are also prohibited from printing or
distributing any unlicensed publication.
b) Printing any picture or any
material without obtaining written permission from the
author is prohibited and the PPD director has the
right to confiscate all copies.
Article 42
a) Printing presses are
prohibited from publishing or reprinting news,
articles, analyses, information, reports, speeches,
pictures, or drawings in any form or manner if they:
1) disparage the King or the
Royal Family;
2) are related to the Jordanian
Armed Forces or Security Forces unless permission is
otherwise obtained from the related authority or an
official government spokesman;
3) infringes on the independence
of the judiciary and its procedures;
4) degrades any religion or
religious sect whose freedom is guaranteed by the
Constitution;
5) harm national security,
incite individuals to commit crime, sow dissension, or
foment hatred within society;
6) harms the dignity, personal
freedom or reputation of individuals;
7) includes the degradation,
libel and slander of heads of Arab, Islamic or
friendly states or results in the disruption of ties
between the Kingdom and other countries, on the basis
of reciprocity;
8) promotes perversion or
results in corruption of morals;
9) includes false information or
rumours that harm the common good or the nation's
security departments or their employees without
sufficient evidence;
10) includes information on
Parliament secret sessions without permission;
11) governmental documents of
confidential nature;
12) shakes confidence in the
national currency;
13) advertisements that promote
medicine not licensed by the Ministry of Health;
14) instigates strikes, sit-ins
or public gatherings.
b) The PPD director has the
right to prohibit the entrance of foreign publications
if they violate any of the above mentioned items under
this law or any other law.
Article 43
a) Reprints and excerpted
material will be dealt with in the same way the law
deals with original scripts in accordance with the
provisions of Article 42 and 44 of this law and are
liable for the same penalties;
b) The provisions of paragraph
a) of Article 53 of this law are applicable to foreign
correspondents if they violate the provisions of
Article 42 or Article 44 of this law.
Article 44
a) Publications are prohibited
from publishing any information related to an ongoing
investigation, court case, or crime committed in the
Kingdom unless permission is obtained from the General
Prosecutor;
b) Minutes of court proceedings
are prohibited from being published before a final
ruling is issued unless permission from the court is
obtained;
c) Penalties provided in section
3) or paragraph a) of Article 53 of this law are
applicable to foreign correspondents who contradict
the provisions of paragraph a) of this article.
Article 45
Owners of a publication,
responsible chief editors or any other editors,
reporters or writers are prohibited from receiving any
financial assistance from any non-Jordanian party.
Article 46
Study and research centres,
polling centres, individuals employed in such
institutions are prohibited from receiving any
financial assistance or support from any non-Jordanian
party. The PPD director has the right to close down
these foundations for a period of no less than three
months and no less than six months if they contradict
this provision and has the right to apply the penalty
stipulated in section 1), paragraph a) of Article 53
of this law.
Court Procedures
Article 47
a) The Court of First Instance
has jurisdiction to review violations not provided for
in this law. The General Prosecutor will investigate
these cases and issue appropriate decisions in
accordance with the current Code of Fundamentals of
Criminal court Procedures and the Penal Law. The court
will give all cases pertaining to press violations
priority as rulings should be decided upon within a
three-month period.
b) Cases of violation of public
rights as provided for by this law shall be raised
against the owner of the publication, the responsible
chief editor, the writer and any other person involved
in the publication of the article. These parties are
also responsible for infractions of private rights and
court expenditures.
c) Cases of violation of public
rights for non-periodicals as provided for by this law
are raised against writers and publishers. If the
author and publisher of the non-periodical are not
known the printing press owner and director will be
liable for the penal case.
Article 48
The director must file a case in
coordination with the concerned authority if the
published or printed material harms a ministry, or one
of its departments, or official institution or
infringes on the authority of the state or public
morals.
Article 49
If the publication prints
material that harms national security or interest or
infringes upon the Constitution the PPD director must
file an urgent lawsuit at the Court of First Instance
and has the right to ask the court to suspend the
publication of the newspaper within 24-hours, pending
a final ruling.
Article 50
Owners of printing presses,
bookstores, publication and distribution houses are
responsible for infractions of private rights and for
covering court expenses, as provided in this law.
Article 51
The court has the right to order
the defendant to publish the final ruling or the brief
of it free of charge, in the first issue of the
periodical following the ruling. The ruling or brief
will be published in the same place within the
publication as the offending article. Moreover, if the
court sees fit that the publication of the ruling or
brief is necessary in two additional publications, the
defendant is liable for costs.
Article 52
a) If the responsible chief
editor of a publication violates paragraphs a) or b)
or Article 32 of this law, a case may be filed against
him by the injured party or director of the PPD;
b) If a foreign publication
violates paragraph c) of Article 32 of this law, the
PPD director has the right to raise a lawsuit against
the publication or its correspondents.
Penalties
Article 53
a1) violators of paragraph a) of
Article 24 of this law shall be fined no less than
JD30,000 and no more than JD50,000. In addition the
funds obtained by the publication shall be confiscated
and deposited in the national treasury;
a2) The owner of the periodical
is liable for fines of no less than JD3,000 and no
more than JD5,000 if he fails to comply with paragraph
b) of Article 24. The PPD director can request the
suspension of the periodical until the owner complies
with the provision, through a court ruling obtained 24
hours of filing the suit;
a3) Violators of articles 42 and
44 of this law are liable for a fine of no less than
JD15,000 and no more than JD25,000;
a4) Violators of Article 45 are
liable for a fine of no less than JD15,000 and no more
than JD25,000. In addition, the obtained funds will be
confiscated and deposited in the national treasury;
a5) Violations of the provisions
of articles 42 and 44 of this law will result in the
suspension of the publication by court order. The
minister reverse the suspension once fines are paid in
accordance with guarantees and conditions that the
minister requests.
b1) A court can suspend a
publication for a period of no less than three months
and no more than a year, in addition to applying
penalties stipulated in this law, if violations of
sections 1), 3) and 4) of paragraph a) of this article
are repeated within a period of three years;
b2) A court can revoke the
licence of a publication if any violations of sections
1), 3) or 4) of paragraph a) of this article are
repeated for a third time within a period of five
years.
Article 54
a) The defendant is liable for a
fine of no less than JD500 and no more than JD1,500
for violations of Article 51, and he is liable for
publishing the ruling that he refused to publish at
his own cost;
b) Smuggling in illegal
publications and distributing them results in fines of
no less than JD2,000 and no more than JD3,000, and
confiscation of the copies;
c) Violators of articles 7,9,
10, 26, 32, 35, 36, 37, 39, 41 of this law are liable
for fines no less than JD3,000 and no more than
JD5,000, and repetition of violations will result in
an increased penalty.
Article 55
a) The issuance of a periodical
publication prior to meeting licensing conditions will
result in fines no less than JD10,000 and no more than
JD15,000. Violators will be prohibited from receiving
a licence for a period of no less than one year.
Moreover, responsible chief editors of these
publications are prohibited from assuming positions at
other publications for a period of no less than one
year;
b) If permission is not obtained
as stipulated in paragraph a) of Article 18 of this
law from the PPD, violators are liable for a fine of
no less than JD10,000. Penalties also will include the
closure of the publication and the confiscation of its
assets through a court ruling.
General Provisions
Article 56
a) If the violation constitutes
a crime according to any other law, the perpetrator
will receive the highest of two penalties rendered in
this law or the other law;
b) The PPD director will prepare
a register of violations by any publication or
foundation for the purposes of this law.
Article 57
a) Owners of periodicals must
comply with this law within 60 days of its
effectiveness;
b) Any publication not complying
with paragraph a) of this article will be suspended.
If it continues without compliance for a further 30
days from the date of suspension, its licence is null
and void;
c) If any of conditions of
Article 18 regarding the issuance of licenses for
specialised publications are violated or become
invalid, the PPD director shall demand that the
publication comply within 60 days or its application
will be null and void;
d) Institutions in Article 18 of
this law must comply with its provisions within a
period not exceeding 60 days of the laws publication
in the Official Gazette.
Article 58
The Council of Ministers will
issue regulations to implement this law including the
definition of fees and reimbursements that the PPD
director obtains upon the application of this law.
Article 59
The Press and Publications Law
No. 10 for 1993 and its amendments are null and void.
Article 60
The prime minister and his
ministerial team are responsible for the application
of the provision of this law.