Challenging Administrative Decisions before the Administrative Court: Deadlines, Procedure and Practical Points

A ministry, government department, municipality or official council may issue a decision that directly affects you: a licence refusal, termination of service, a disciplinary penalty, or the rejection of a planning application. Jordanian law allows such decisions to be challenged before the Administrative Court, but it attaches short deadlines and strict formal requirements. Missing them may cost you the right to challenge, even if the decision is unlawful.

Which decisions can be challenged?

The Administrative Court has exclusive jurisdiction over challenges to final administrative decisions (Article 5, Administrative Judiciary Law), including:

• Decisions on appointment, promotion, transfer, secondment, confirmation and grading in public service.
• Termination or suspension of public employees and disciplinary penalties.
• Claims concerning salaries, allowances and pension rights.
• Requests to annul a regulation, instructions or decision that contradicts the law under which it was issued.
• Any final administrative decision that harms a person with an interest, even where the enabling law purports to shield it.

An authority's refusal or failure to take a decision it is legally required to take is treated as a decision (Article 7(b)). The Court does not hear acts of sovereignty; tax and fee disputes follow the routes set out in their own laws; and a claim by someone without a personal interest is inadmissible (Article 5(c)–(e)).

The deadline: sixty days

The claim must be filed within sixty days from the day following notification of the decision, its publication in the Official Gazette, or any other method provided by law, including electronic means (Article 8(a)). Certain knowledge of the decision is treated as notification (Article 8(b)).

• Grievances: where a grievance is mandatory, the claim may only follow it and targets the decision issued on the grievance; where it is optional, you may sue directly or file the grievance in time and then challenge its outcome (Article 8(c)–(d)).
• Failure to act: time starts thirty days after the day following a written request to the authority (Article 8(e)). Keep proof of the date of your written request.
• Void decisions may be challenged at any time (Article 8(f)).
• Suspension of time: force majeure, filing in time before a court lacking jurisdiction, or a timely request to defer fees (Article 8(g)).

Grounds of challenge

The claim must rely on one or more statutory grounds (Article 7(a)): lack of competence; breach of the Constitution, laws or regulations or error in applying or interpreting them; a defect of form; abuse of power; or a defect of cause (no valid legal or factual basis). The claim is brought against the authority competent to issue the decision or the body that issued it on its behalf.

Who files, and what to attach

The petition must be signed by a senior lawyer with at least five years of practice, and only lawyers meeting this condition may represent parties before the Court (Article 9(a)). It sets out the parties, a summary of facts, the contested decision, the grounds and specific requests (Article 9(b)), and attaches certified documentary evidence with an index, a list of witnesses, the decision if notified, and a specific list of documents held by the authority or third parties (Article 10).

Parties may not later introduce facts, grounds or evidence not raised in the pleadings, and facts not expressly denied are deemed admitted (Article 13). A ground left out of the petition may be lost.

Interim suspension and compensation

Where enforcement would cause irreparable consequences, you may ask the Court to suspend the decision temporarily, and the Court may require security (Article 6). Compensation for resulting damage may be claimed alongside the annulment claim (Article 5(b)).

Pleadings timetable

The respondent may file an answer within fifteen days of service, extendable by ten days (Article 11), and the claimant may reply within ten days of receiving it (Article 12).

Appeal to the High Administrative Court

Judgments may be appealed within thirty days from the day after a judgment delivered in the parties' presence, or from the day after notification otherwise (Article 26); the High Administrative Court reviews both facts and law (Article 25).

Practical note: whether you appeal or the authority appeals a judgment in your favour, make sure your lawyer's power of attorney expressly covers the High Administrative Court; one limited to the Administrative Court may not suffice.

Short preparation checklist

• A copy of the decision and the date it was notified or published.
• Prior applications and correspondence with proof of dates.
• Approvals or decisions of other bodies in the same file.
• A note of the harm the decision causes you and the outcome you seek.

Start early: sixty days pass quickly, and a complete petition takes time to prepare.

This content is general information and does not replace advice on your circumstances.

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