Senate refers Civil Status Law bill back to Lower House

AMMAN — The Senate, in a Sunday session chaired by Senate President Faisal Fayez and in the presence of Cabinet members, referred the draft law amending the Civil Status Law back to the Lower House, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Senators omitted a phrase added by the Lower House to Article 32 of the law, which allows first cousins to benefit from changing their family names in civil status records.

The Senate also approved amending the Nationality Law, as stated by the Lower House, omitting a phrase mentioned in Article 8 that grants Jordanian women, who gave up their nationality to obtain the nationality of their foreign spouse, the right to return to their Jordanian nationality in the case of a divorce. 

The phrase was replaced with a requirement to submit an official request to the Minister of Interior by Jordanian women to restore their Jordanian nationality, without limiting it to the case of divorce.

Senators passed two bills ratifying the extradition treaty signed between Jordan and Romania and Cyprus as received by the Lower House.

Similarly, the Senate adopted a bill revoking the law ratifying the oil shale concession agreement signed by the government, represented by the Natural Resources Authority (NRA), and the Jordan Oil Shale Company B.V (JOSCO) for 2022, at the end of the 90-day notice period. 

Senators also approved the amended law for restructuring government institutions and departments, which came following the establishment of the Ministry of Government Communication. 

According to the amendment, the appointed Minister of Government Communications would chair the Board of Directors at the Jordan Radio and Television Corporation as well as the Jordan News Agency, Petra.