The Discretionary Power of the Court and its Impact on the Lawsuits in Jordan Legal Courts: A Foundational Applied Study

Abstract

Objectives: The study aims to demonstrate the Sharia judge’s judicial discretion and this power’s impact on Jordanian Sharia courts’ lawsuits. This study is carried out to display this power, and to emphasize that the adjudications’ impact is the goal of suing procedures, as the verdicts’ effects havea major role in people’s feeling of confidence and reassurance, security from fear, and reliance on justice. Therefore, the study cites multiple and varied applications to provide a genuine example of the adjudications’ effects on filed lawsuits.

Methods: The study follows the inductive approach - collecting scientific material from jurisprudence (Fiqh) books and old and modern Sharia trial principles books -, and the analytical approach - analyzing the scientific material and benefiting from it in the study topics -.

Results: The study concludes that the implementation of the judicial discretion of the Sharia judge scope is fixed by the Jordanian Sharia Procedure Code text in many positions, which were referred to explicitly and implicitly. The most important outcome of that is the necessity of adhering to the judge’s verdict, which must be executed immediately at the time of its issuance if it is in accordance with the Islamic legislation texts and if it acquires the peremptory degree.

Conclusions: Sharia judge’s judicial discretion should be given more attention in studies conducted by laws’ regulators so that this authority becomes clear and defined by rectified texts that should not be overlooked in legal actions and procedures.