LAW NO. 68 FOR THE YEAR 1971

ARTICLE 1:This Law shall be cited as (The Planning Law of 1971) and it shall come into effect from the date of its publication in the Official Casette.

ARTICLE 2:The words and expressions appearing in this Law, shall have the meanings assigned thereto hereunder unless the context indicates otherwise.Kingdom : Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.Council : National Planning Council.President : President of the National Planning Council.Secretary General : Secretary General of the National Planning Council which is established under the provisions of this Law.Board of Directors : Board of Directors of the National Planning Council.Economic Security Council : Economic Security Council which is established under the provisions of this Law.
ARTICLE 3:The philosophy of planning in Jordan emanates from the Jordanian Constitution and consists of the following principles:

a. Belief in God.
b. Belief in Islamic values, particularly those related to social justice, suppression of capital domination, and combat of exploitation and monopoly.
c. Belief in the unity of the Arab Nation within an economically, socially, demographically, culturally and politically unified and integrated Arab World.
d. Belief in the individual's dignity, in giving the opportunity to the individual's initiative and activity with the safeguarding of the society's public interest insofar as one does not over-ride the other.

Belief in the unity of the Arab Nation within an economically, socially, demographically, culturally and politically unified and integrated Arab World.

1. Belief in that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a part of the Arab World and that the Jordanian people is a part of the Arab Nation.
2. Belief in the necessity of developing, modernizing, and evolving the Jordanian society from its contemporary agricultural civilization stage to a future stage of industrial civilization in all its civilized modifications of natural environment, demography, technology, social system, values system, and others.
3. Belief in that the process of developing, modernizing, and evolving the Jordanian society requires the existence of a national, qualified and efficient machinery, the application of social justice in all sectors of the society, the adoption of a proper educational system that serves the existing and prospective needs of the society, the investment of capital on economical bases and the scientific utilization of the modern technology.
4. Belief in that success of various development programs relies on the following:

1. Existence of the national will to develop the Jordanian society;
2. Adoption of development as a fundamental goal of the Jordanian people;
3. Allocation of adequate financial resources for development projects;
4. Development of the Governmental machinery through the application of ;
5. modern administration principles in all ministries, public and private corporations and private organizations;
6. Harmonization and modernization of all Governmental laws, rules and regulations;
7. Coordination of planning and financing operations in an integrated framework;

5. Belief in that the preparation of development plans and programs is the duty of the Council in consultation and cooperation with other Government ministries and agencies and with the participation of other sectors in the Jordanian society. The implementation of these plans and programs is the duty of the ministers and other agencies concerned.
6. Belief in that the Jordanian steadfastness and challenge to meet the requirements of the liberation of the occupied parts of it and those of Palestine, require the development of a strong entity in the political, economic, social, demographic and cultural fields, both civilian and military, based on planning on scientific bases, execution, evaluation and follow-up.

ARTICLE 4:A Council shall be set up entitled the National Planning Council and entrusted to achieve the following objectives:

a- Preparation of national long-term plans for the development and evolution of the Jordanian society, economically, socially, demographically and culturally in the light of its existing and prospective needs, developing the domestic resources in Jordan, enhancing the standard of living of the Jordanian people, and attaining the stage of self-reliance in the shortest possible period.
b- Preparation of comprehensive economic, social demographic, cultural and other development programs, which shall comprise projects to be implemented in stages at scheduled times together with determining the priorities among them, estimating their expected costs and explaining their sources prospective results and their sources of financing.
c- Preparation of the annual implementation program for the projects which shall be determined within the comprehensive development programs.
d- Collaboration and cooperation with the Department of the National Budget in the Ministry of Finance in preparing the development budget as part of the annual General Budget of the Government.
e- Revision of the comprehensive development programs and annual implementation programs in the light of the pertinent studies and economic evaluation which the Council prepares in cooperation with the Central Bank and the Ministry of Planning, and in the light of new circumstances, and the necessities of actual execution whenever necessary, and the preparation of proper amendments.
f- Studying of the society's requirements of trained manpower at various levels and in various professions, services, specializations within the framework of the national comprehensive development plans and in the light of the annual implementation programs.
g- Preparation of comprehensive long-term, short-term and annual programs for qualifying the necessary trained manpower, training them in stages coinciding with the national comprehensive development plans and annual implementation programs, and the revision of these programs and their amendment in the light of the prevailing circumstances whenever the need arises.
h- Cooperation with the University of Jordan and the Ministry of Education in defining the kinds of scientific institution needed on all levels and in various specializations and the number of students therein, and in defining the scholarships to prepare the requested trained manpower.
i- Collaboration and cooperation the Department of Statistics in determining statistical information in economic, demographic, cultural and other fields that the country needs in its various development plans and programs.
j- Cooperation with the Government organizations in the preparation of studies needed for their development in the harmonization and modernization of laws, rules and regulations, and improvement of the administration system and methods of work therein and increase its productivity and effectiveness.
k- Cooperation with the Civil Services Commission, Institute of Public Administration, and the University of Jordan in developing the administrative and technical cadres and provide training at all levels, with the aim of developing the administrative capabilities in the Government organizations and upgrade adequately expeditiously and economically the level of their annual implementation programs.
l- Seeking sources of finance and technical assistance in friendly countries and international organizations, and negotiating with them assistance and loans for financing the various types of development projects.
m- Preparation of studies for all assistance and internal and external loans from any sources for the development projects in the Kingdom, and formulating Agreement related thereto in cooperation with the Government organizations concerned provided that the Council will sign the internal and external agreements after being approved by the Board of Directors and the Council of Ministers according to the procedure inforce.
n- To submit to the Council of Ministers comprehensive development programs and annual implementation programs with any amendments which may be introduced and approved by the Board of Directors, for authorization before the beginning of the fiscal year for inclusion in the General Budget of the following year.
o- Establishing of a system for evaluating the comprehensive development programs, annual impprograms and all various types of development projects in the Kingdom, to follow them up in cooperation with the private and Government organizations concerned and to evaluate the standard of performance of all projects and to submit periodical reports thereon to the Board of Directors.
p- Encouragement of the private sector to contribute to the development of the Jordanian Society and propose policies and methods that will help the activity of this sector and its development.

ARTICLE 5

a- A council shall be set up to be known as the Board Directors of the National Planning Council as follows:

1. Prime Minister   Chairman
2. President of the National Planning Council  Vice Chairman
3. Minister of Finance  Member
4. Minister of Industry, Trade and Supplies  Member
5. Governor of the Central Bank  Member
6. President of the University of Jordan  Member
7. Director of the Royal Scientific Society  Member
8. Secretary General of the National Planning Council  Member
9. Chairman of the Federation of the Chambers of Commerce in Jordan  Member
10. Chairman of the Chamber of Industry in Amman  Member
11. Two Members with qualifications and experience to be appointed by the Council of Ministers in compliance with Article (7) of this Law provided that one of them be a member of the Council of Syndicates.  Member

b- The Chairman shall entrust one of the Directors of the Council to act as secretary of the Board of Directors to register all the resolutions taken in all the meetings in a special register which shall be signed by the members of the Board of Directors.
c- Any official or any other specialist may be to participate in the discussions of the Board of Directors to express his opinion whenever necessary. However, none of these invitees shall have the right to vote on any decision taken.
d- The Board of Directors shall convene at least once every three months upon the request of its Chairman and whenever the necessity arises.
e- The meeting of the Board of Directors shall be legal if attended by not less than eight members, one of them being the Chairman or the vice-chairman. Decision shall be taken by a majority of seven votes.
f- The affairs of the Board of Directors shall be organized by a special Regulation.

ARTICLE 6:The Board of Directors shall assume the following duties:

a- Approval of State's plans, comprehensive development program, annual implementation programs and all development projects which the Council prepares in cooperation with the private and government organizations before they are submitted to the Council of Ministers for ratification.
b- Approval of the amendments which the Council prepare in cooperation with private and government organizations, of the State's plans, comprehensive development programs, annual implementation programs and all development projects, before they are submitted to the Council of Ministers for ratification.
c- Evaluation of all types of the State's plans, comprehensive development programs, annual implementation programs, follow-up thereon and evaluation of the standard of performance in implementing all projects in the light of periodical reports which the Council shall submit and in the light of periodical reports which the Council shall submit and in the light of any report which the Board of Directors requests from the Council.
d- Approval of the internal and external loans before their ratification by the Council of Ministers, follow-up and evaluation thereof.

ARTICLE 7:Members of the Board of Directors other than Government members who are specified on the basis of their posts shall be appointed from among those who possess qualifications and experience by a Royal decree based on the Council of Ministers resolution and the President's recommendation, for a period of five years, provided that they are not from among members of the Parliament or those who have private interests in the development projects.

ARTICLE 8:The University of Jordan, the scientific societies, all Ministries, private and government organizations and the national institutions concerned shall fully cooperate with the Board of Directors to achieve the philosophy of Planning in Jordan and the Council's objectives. These Ministries, institutions and bodies shall adopt the recommendations of the Board of Directors and put them for implementation according to the development plans, their comprehensive annual programs and the various projects in accordance with the specified time.

ARTICLE 9

a- A Council to be named the Economic Security Council shall be established as follows:

1. Prime Minister   President
2. Minister of Finance   Vice-President
3. Minister of National Economy   Member
4. Governor of Central Bank   Member
5. President of the National Planning Council   Member
6. Secretary General of the Council   Member
7. Director of the Budget Department in the   Member

b- The Director of the General Budget Department will act as secretary to this Council and register all the decisions of the meetings in a special register which should be signed by the members of the Economic Security Council.
c- Any employee or any other specialist may be invited to participate in the discussions of this Council to express his opinion when necessary. However, these invitees shall not have the right to vote when decisions are taken.
d- The Economic Security Council shall convene upon the invitation of its president at least once every two months and whenever it is deemed necessary.
e- The meeting of the Economic Security Council shall be deemed legal if attended by at least five members and decisions shall be taken by the majority of five votes.
f- Matters of the Economic Security Council shall be organized by a special regulation.

ARTICLE 10:The Economic Security Council shall be entrusted with the following duties:

a- Propose all kinds of economic, fiscal and monetary policies, and submission of appropriate recommendations in respect thereof to the Council of Ministers.
b- Study of all cases influencing the economic, financial and monetary situation in the Kingdom and submission of appropriate recommendations thereon to the Council of Ministers.
c- Study of the draft annual general budget of the Government before its submission to the Council of Ministers.

ARTICLE 11:The comprehensive development programs ,the annual implementation programs and any amendments thereto shall comprise all the economic, social demographic and cultural projects in all parts of the Kingdom and in particular the following:

a- The development projects that are submitted by the Ministries and Government organizations related to the economic, social, demographic and cultural development budget of the country before inclusion in the State's annual general budget.
b- The development projects that a are submitted to the Government by institutions of an official character. This comprises all the external assistance from any source allocated for the development of the Jordanian Society.
c- The development projects that are financed from the Council's revenues and from the internal loans concluded by the Government or by the Council with the guarantee of the Government, and the projects that are carried out by companies or firms in which the Government is shareholding.

ARTICLE 12:There shall be set up, in every Ministry and governmental institution, a special staff for planning and coordination attached to the Undersecretary of the Ministry or to the President of the governmental institution to prepare the studies necessary for the broad lines of development and its strategies and projects' planning, its coordination and timing, and preparation of its evaluation and follow-up system. The detailed duties that are entrusted to this staff in every Ministry of governmental institution will be specified in the text of its special regulation and its administrative organization.

ARTICLE 13:There shall be set up, in every Ministry and government institution, a planning committee to exercise its function as follows:

a- The committee shall be composed of the Minister as President (and his counterpart from thgovernment institution as President), the Undersecretary of the Minister as Vice president (and his counterpart from the government institution as Vice president), the membership of all the directors of the Ministry and its chief clerk (and their counterparts from the government institution)and a representative from the National Planning Council, The Chief of the Planning and Coordination staff shall be a member of the committee as well as secretary for it.
b- The committee shall convene, periodically at specific times and when need arises, in arises, in regular sessions and their decisions will be registered in a special register to be signed by the members of the committee. A copy of all the minutes of each session shall sent to the National Planning Council.
c- The committee shall discuss all issues pertaining to the administrative system, legislative coordination, its modernization and the planning of the types of comprehensive, annual, and detailed development programs in the Ministry of in the Government institution, and follow-up the implementation of these programs and evaluate them continuously. The committee shall foster the development of the team working spirit in the Ministry of Government institution and develop the feeling of participation in the fundamental decision making between all concerned. The detailed duties entrusted to the committee in every Ministry and Government institution shall be specified in its special regulation of its administrative organization.

ARTICLE 14:The Council shall convoke periodical meetings to be attended by all Undersecretaries of the Ministries and their counterparts of the Government institutions to discuss the matters of the administrative system, legislative coordination, modernization thereof and the programs of comprehensive and annual development.

ARTICLE 15:The Council shall set up, by virtue of a regulation or regulations, permanent planning committees representing the Ministries and Government and private institution concerned to study the development programs and projects in the agricultural, social, industrial sectors and others in order to prepare, coordinate, evaluate and follow them up.

ARTICLE 16:

a- The Council may request the existing machinery in Ministries, private and Government institutions and national bodies in the kingdom to submit whatever necessary for the preparation of the required researches and studies.
b- The Council may set up the necessary cadres, centers and institutions for the purpose of organization, legislation, planning, development and researche.
c- The Council may employ experts and request the various Government and private organizations to give advice and assistance of their employee and experts, to reassign them to the Council and provide the Council with any reports, researches, studies, information and statistics related to the Council functions.
d- The Council may enter into contracts with private, Government and foreign institutions and individuals inside and outside the Kingdom to prepare the necessary researche and studies needed for the planning development operations.

ARTICLE 17:After the approval of the State's General Budget comprising the annual implementation program or development projects, the relative Ministries and Government institutions shall implement the detailed projects each within its competence. However, in this case, they should abide by the conditions put by the National Council for implementation, and to submit periodical reports on the progress of the projects' implementation which are entrusted to them. In all cases, the National Planning Council shall followup the implementation and submit the necessary reports to the Board of Directors and the Council of Ministers. In case of the implementation of the proposed projects, by companies in which the Government is shareholding and participate in its administration, the Council shall submit the conditions and recommendations concerning the design, implementation and follow-up, to the Council of Ministers for approval.

ARTICLE 18:Any development project in any Ministry or Government institution should not be implemented except after the approval of the Council and the Board of Directors and the ratification of the Council of Ministers.

ARTICLE 19

a- The Council shall be the link chain between the Ministries and the private and Government institutions on the one hand and the foreign financial resources from other countries as well as the foreign, international and other institutions on the other hand.
b- Any Ministry or private or Government institution shall not accept, in any way, any financial or technical assistance except after the approval of the Council.
c- It is not permitted for any foreign or international expert from any source to be recruited by any Ministry or private or Government institution before the Council approves the technical assistance program which the expert is part thereof, and ratifies the employment of the expert and his Jordanian counterpart and the employment conditions of the expert in the Kingdom. The approval of the Council shall be obtained in case of extending or terminating the services of any expert.

ARTICLE 20

a- Every Ministry or private of Government institution shall submit to the Council two copies of each report or statement or document prepared by it and pertaining to projects and development programs.
c- Every foreign expert working with any Ministry or private or Government institution shall submit two copies to the Council of any report or statement or document prepared by him and pertaining to any aspect of the development program and their projects.

ARTICLE 21:The Council has a legal entity and may enter into contract or agreement connected with its duties with any individual or company inside or outside the kingdom. The Council is also entitled to rent and own movable and immovable property required for its duties.

ARTICLE 22:The funds and loans belonging to the Council shall be collected in accordance with the Collection of Government Funds Law in force. All funds already collected in accordance with the said law shall be considered as collected in a legal manner as if it is collected by virtue of this Article.

ARTICLE 23:The Council may, with the approval of the Board of Directors and on the terms which the Council of Ministers may prescribe, contract internal and external loans in its name to be guaranteed by the Government.

ARTICLE 24:The Council may carry forward the balance of the allocations incorporated in a year's budget to the budget of the following year. It also may continue disbursing out of these balances on the projects which have not been completed by the end of the fiscal year.

ARTICLE 25

a- The Council shall set up a special Fund in which the following funds shall be deposited:
Amounts of loans that the Council may contract.
Any amounts which the Government may allocate to the Council.
Any external amounts which may be offered to the Kingdom for development purposes.
b- The Fund's money shall be deposited in a special account in a bank or banks approved by the Council, and disbursement from the said account shall be effected in accordance with the provisions of this law and with applicable financial regulations.
c- The Council shall regulate special withdrawal procedures for its funds and investment of surplus thereof.

ARTICLE 26

a- The President of the National Planning Council shall be appointed in a Minister's rank and salary by a Royal Decree, on a full-time basis confirming the resolution of the Council of Ministers.
b- The officials and employees shall be appointed in the Council in accordance with the budget specified for this purpose.

ARTICLE 27:The Council of Ministers, upon the Council's recommendations, may issue the regulations deemed necessary for the execution of the provisions of this Law.

ARTICLE 28

a- This Council shall replace the Development Board and shall bear all its responsibilities and obligations.
b- This Law shall abrogate the Law of the Development Board No. 15 for the year 1957 together with its amendments, the PLaw of Manpower of the National Planning Council No. 101 for the year 1966, and any other Law or regulation to the extent that its provisions conflict with the provisions of this Law. All the regulations issued by virtue of these Laws and precedent Laws shall remain effective until they are substituted by new regulations that supersede them and to be issued by virtue of the provisions of this Law.

ARTICLE 29:The Prime Minister and the Ministers are entrusted with the implementation of the provision of this Law.
Al-Hussein Bin Talal