Committee to reexamine JPA law, suggest amendments

October 9, 2005

By Ahmad Barakat
AMMAN — The Jordan Press Association (JPA) has formed a committee tasked with suggesting amendments to the current association law which includes “illogical articles that need to be modified,” according to JPA President Tareq Momani.

The committee, comprising four association council members, will reexamine the existing law and come up with suggestions accordingly, Momani told The Jordan Times.

The JPA president said some articles in the law needed to be revised, such as the length of the training period required for journalists before they can become JPA members.

He said there are journalists who have worked abroad for many years and it “does not make sense” to ask them to undergo a two-year training period as currently stipulated in the law.

Among other issues that require revision and amendment, according to Momani, is banning JPA members who work as correspondents for foreign newspapers from running for the JPA council elections.

He said the committee is also assigned to look into introducing articles into the law governing the electronic press, which is currently not covered by any legislation.

Momani denied any link between the move to amend the association law and a National Agenda recommendation to scrap mandatory membership for journalists in the JPA.

The National Agenda committee has announced 19 recommendations on the development of the local media sector, among which was abolishing mandatory membership in the JPA.

The JPA has expressed its total rejection of the recommendation, organising a one-hour work stoppage and a sit-in in front of the Prime Ministry last week.

Momani stressed that plans to amend the association law were not new, but have been on the JPA agenda for years. He noted that the introduction of the controversial professional associations draft law in March delayed those plans.

The JPA president said the committee has no time- limit to complete its work, adding that once the amendments were ready they would be referred to the Cabinet and Parliament for endorsement.