Ministry of Finance Law No. ( 26 ) of 2001

This law shall be called "The Public Debt Management Law of 2001" and shall enter into force upon its publication in The Official Gazette.

The following terms and phrases, wherever they appear in this law, shall have the meanings assigned to them herebelow unless the context otherwise indicates:

Government	:	The Ministries and Government Departments listed in the General Budget Law.
Committee	:	The Higher Ministerial Committee formed in accordance with this law to manage the public debt.
Ministry	:	The Ministry of Finance.
Minister	:	The Minister of Finance
The Central Bank	:	The Central Bank of Jordan.
Governor	:	The Governor of the Central Bank.
Directorate	:	The Public Debt Directorate of the Ministry
Public debt	:	The outstanding balance of unpaid direct and indirect obligations valued in Jordanian Dinars payable by the government.
External debt	:	The public debt payable in foreign currency.
Domestic debt	:	The public debt payable in Jordanian Dinar.
Register	:	The Register of Government securities prepared in accordance with article (5) of this law.
Registered bond	:	The public debt instrument whose nominal value is registered in the name of its owner in the Register.
Treasury bill	:	A promissory note to pay issued by the Government and whose nominal value is registered in the name of its owner in the Register.
Government Securities	:	Registered bonds and treasury bills issued in accordance with the provisions of this law.

The Committee shall convene every three months by an invitation of its chairman and whenever needed. The meetings shall not be legal unless all members attend.

A register called "The Government Securities Register" shall be established at the Central Bank and shall in particular contain the following:

On the effective date of this Law, registrations related to government securities shall be incorporated in the "Register" and shall be considered a complementary part thereof, and the verification of the entries shall be subject to the clauses of the Law at the time of their registration.

The Central Bank shall exchange tangible or electronic data on a daily basis with the Securities Deposit Center and dealers in Government securities to ensure the uniformity of the data recorded by all the entities, and for this purpose, data shall be matched on a monthly basis.

The entries of dealings in the Government securities shall be considered evidence of their ownership.

The Governor shall issue directives on the conditions for authorizing persons to deal in the primaries of Government securities.

Sufficient funds to meet public debt and its obligations shall be earmarked in the General Budget Law.

If the date of repayments of any public debt amount coincides with an official holiday of the Government or commercial banks, debt re-payments shall be made on the next working day.

The Central Bank shall be responsible for public debt issuance and the Governor shall, in an agreed upon manner, provide the Minister with monthly reports on the situation of this debt.

Government securities shall be traded in the Amman Stock Exchange and may be traded elsewhere.

The Government shall not provide financial guarantees for any party except in exceptional and justified cases for investment related to the projects of national interest and Government entities provided that the Council of Ministers, upon recommendations from the Minister, approves the issuance of such guarantees.

The public debt represents an absolute and unconditional obligation by the Government and therefore Government securities and Government loans are considered equivalent in terms of their payments priority.

Despite of the provisions of any other law, the Government domestic borrowing shall be carried out by issuing Government securities and the Government shall be prohibited from direct domestic borrowings from commercial banks or any other institutions.

The outstanding domestic public debt may not, at any time, exceed (60%) of gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices of the latest year for which data is available.

The outstanding external public debt may not, at any time, exceed (60%) of gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices of the latest year for which data is available.

Despite of any contradictory clause, the total outstanding public debt may not, at any time, exceed (80%) of (GDP) at current prices of the latest year with which data is available.

The Provisions of article (22) and Article (23) shall enter into force on the date approved by the Council of Ministers.

Despite of provisions of any other legislation or any contradictory clause in this law, the Government debt due to the Central Bank shall not exceed the outstanding debt on the date this law enters into force.