The AAU Faculty of Law Holds Its Second Scientific Conference Titled “The Legal Aspects that Attract Investment & Sustain development”

On behalf of the Prime Minister, Dr. Omar Al-Razzaz, the Minister of State for Investment Affairs, Dr. Muhannad Shehadeh, inaugurated the Second Scientific Conference of the AAU Faculty of Law. The conference which took place on 21/4/2019 was titled “The Legal Aspects that Attract Investment & Sustain development”. This conference was attended by the Minister of Industry & Trade, Tariq Al-Hamouri, the AAU President Prof., Sari Hamdan, the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Dr. Yousef Al-Mufleh and a number of faculty deans and members of the administrative and academic staffs along with researchers and thinkers from various Arab countries. In his speech, the AAU President, Prof. Sari Hamdan welcomed the representative of the ceremony patron, the Minister of State for Investment Affairs, Dr. Muhannad Shehadeh, the guests and the researchers who participated in this conference. He also conveyed a message to the Prime Minister emphasizing the importance of investment, since the Jordanian teacher is the most important export in the Kingdom. He added that it is necessary to amend the laws and regulations to recruit large numbers of foreign students to study in Jordanian universities. In his speech, the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Dr. Yousef Al-Mufleh stated: I welcome you in the AAU Faculty of Law, which was established at the inception of the University three decades ago at the initiative of the late Dr. Ahmed Al-Hourani to be an advocate of justice and to produce law makers who carry the banner of justice in our beloved Jordan and to produce judges, lawyers, faculty members in the various Jordanian and Arab faculties of law and state officials in various public and private administrations. He also said: “Investment plays an important role in economic activity due to its influence on future economic activity. The University always seeks to engage and participate in contemporary human community and contribute to its progress in the fields of development and investment”. Then he added: “Community service is part of the University mission as well as teaching and scientific research”. He continued: “the comprehensive sense of investment is not limited to money alone, but investment in humans is the greatest investment. It is the effective and necessary cornerstone for financial and economic investment”. Furthermore, he added that: “this conference was held in recognition of the importance of investment and the belief of the University in the importance of collective action and joint legal thought in achieving investment and development with the help of researchers, thinkers and scientists from Jordan and Arab countries”.In turn, the Minister of Industry & Trade Dr. Tareq Al-Hamouri talked about legislations & investment and he confirmed the relation between them. He said “If we look at the practice in Jordan and the world, the legislation is part of the tools to attract investment, but there is legislation, enforcement, procedures and the local and regional environments”. He added: “Attracting investment is not limited to legislation only since legislation is part of a system which may exist in the commercial legislation field specifically in Jordan. Al-Hamouri also said that there is a continuous need to confront the legislations by ensuring that they meet the needs of the investor. The legislation is based on creating an environment and incentive related to the economic situation. He added that in terms of legislation and enforcement, the government has taken many measures related to what it called the investor's journey and it came to streamline investors’ procedures and complete all procedures in a short time. At the end of the opening session, the AAU President, Prof. Sari Hamdan honored the Minister of Investment, Dr. Muhannad Shehadeh, the representative of the ceremony patron, and the Minister of Industry & Trade Dr. Tareq Al-Hamouri and handed them the University Shields. In the first day sessions of the conference, they discussed: the legal system of the investment environment; its role in achieving development and evaluating & developing legislation governing investment and obstacles that face investment and development. The conference continued its sessions the next day and discussed the judicial, administrative and legal guarantees that ensure a safe investment environment, as well as discussing the legal and economic prospects for investment, models and proposed solutions to establish and implement a successful investment system. Finally it concluded with recommendations.