Law of Jordan

Jordanian law is a mixed system combining Islamic sharia, Ottoman legal tradition and European influence, above all French civil law. Before 1918 the territory was governed by Ottoman sharia courts applying the four schools of Islamic law alongside the Ottoman Mecelle code, and after the First World War the British mandate, which lasted until Jordan independence in 1946, introduced elements of English common law. Jordan modern penal code descends from the Ottoman Law of 1858, itself based on the French Penal Code of 1810, and was heavily shaped by Lebanese criminal law of 1943. The 1952 Constitution establishes Islam as the state religion while protecting religious pluralism, and under it sharia courts hold exclusive jurisdiction over Muslim personal status matters such as marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance, while separate civil courts handle criminal and commercial cases within a system that also includes a bicameral legislature of an appointed upper house and a 138 member elected lower house.