The House of Representatives has approved the draft of the General Pardon Law for the year 2024 as it was referred to the Parliament with no amendments - during the nineteenth session of the third regular session today, Tuesday.

The draft law encompasses felonies, misdemeanors, and violations, excluding crimes affecting internal and external state security such as terrorism, espionage, murder, rape, abduction, and other serious crimes affecting societal security.

The law also covers vehicle violations, fines, and other violations and crimes, excluding civil lawsuits; meaning that the general pardon only applies to criminal cases, according to criminal law and cybercrime expert Dr. Ashraf Al-Rai in a statement to "Roya".

Questions arose on what the law will include regarding fees and fines incurred by citizens, and whether the draft law will exempt income and sales taxes or not, in addition to traffic violations.

Work permits

Any violations or fines, except for income and sales taxes, will be covered by the general pardon.

The pardon will include fines incurred on work permits for non-Jordanians in previous years, but it will not cover the value of work fees itself.

As for issues related to water and electricity tariffs and vandalism fines, the pardon will cover the fines imposed for those acts, but it will not include tariffs itself, nor will it include vandalism fines.

The pardon will also include court fines and fines for overstaying for non-Jordanians.

It will also exempt individuals from fines incurred for late tax declarations unless the individual pays the tax assets.

Traffic tickets

Drivers of ride-hailing apps frequently face traffic violations due to committing a traffic offense, whether related to licensing issues with the ride-hailing application or committing any other act accountable under the 2023 Traffic Law.

Violations recorded by drivers of ride-hailing applications will be fully covered by the general pardon, similar to other traffic violations.

Overweight violations for trucks on a truck scale will also be covered by the pardon.

Cheques

The government announced in the General Pardon draft Law for the year 2024 that issuing bounced checks will be covered in the pardon.

Legal experts stated that any bounced check issued or stamped by the bank before March 19, 2024, will be covered by the pardon, meaning that the individual will not face imprisonment as a result.

However, the person entitled to the check can file a civil claim/demand to hold the accused accountable.

University loans and bank loans are considered financial obligations affecting the civil rights of others and have not been included in the law.

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