RESPONSE TO REQUEST ON COUNTERRORISM LEGISLATION

UNCLAS AMMAN 002228

SIPDIS

NSC FOR GARY PETERS, JUSTICE FOR OPDAT, TREASURY FOR OTA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ASEC KCRM KTIA PREL PTER JO
SUBJECT: RESPONSE TO REQUEST ON COUNTERRORISM LEGISLATION
SEMINARS

REF: A. SECSTATE 51937 B. AMMAN 5049-01


1. (U) In response to Ref A, Post has queried and received a
positive response from the FonMin's office on the GOJ's
interest in attending counterterrorism legislation seminars
in Washington. The GOJ is one of our strongest partners in
the war on terrorism and we believe the opportunity to
further develop their legislative tools on key
counterterrorism issues would be invaluable. Post has
identified the following areas in which we believe the GOJ
would benefit from training: terrorist financing, border
control and immigration, export and import controls, and
investigative and prosecution tools for counterterrorism
offenses.


2. (U) The following answers are keyed to Ref A questions on
the GOJ's legal system:


A. The GOJ legal system is an amalgam of several legal models
reflecting the influences of colonial and regional powers
prominent in the last century. It is essentially a
code-based legal system that derives its normative and
procedural structure primarily from Egyptian codes, which
themselves were based on the French tradition and models of
the 19th and 20th centuries. The GOJ legal system also
incorporates Shari'a (Islamic law) and some aspects of
European law. For example, during the Ottoman period,
aspects of French commercial law and civil and criminal
procedures were adopted. English common law was introduced
in the West Bank between 1917 and 1948, and was introduced in
the East Bank during the years 1921-1946, when the East Bank
comprised the British Mandate of Transjordan.


B. Yes, codified in the penal code.


C. Yes, per Ref B, the GOJ in October 2001 passed a series of
amendments to its penal code that broadly define terrorism
and punishments for terrorism-related crimes.


D. Yes, as a condition of the FY 2001 cash transfer program,
the U.S. required the GOJ to draft statutes on money
laundering. The GOJ statutes are based on the "forty
recommendations"--the general framework of the Financial
Action Task Force of the OECD.


E. Yes, conditional on the approval of the Prosecutor
General. If approval has not been given, evidence garnered
from such operations will not be allowed to be presented in
court.


G. Yes, conditional on the approval of the Prosecutor
General. If approval is not given, evidence garnered from
such surveillance cannot be presented in court.
BERRY