No penalty shall be imposed unless provided for by the law at the time the crime is
committed. A crime is considered to be a complete one when all the acts composing it
are completed without any regard to the time when the result happens
Article (4)
1. Any law which amends the incrimination conditions in favor of the defendant,
its provisions shall be applicable to acts committed before its enactment,
unless a final judgment had been issued regarding such acts.
2. Any law that amends the right of legal pursuit shall be applied to previous
crimes if such amendments are in favor of the defendant.
3. If the new law states a new period during which the legal pursuit shall be
initiated, such period shall only start from the day such law becomes into
effect. If the law amends a period that existed before, then it shall start
according to the old law provided that it dose not exceed the period provided
in the new law.
4. If the law amends the statute of limitation concerning a penalty or a crime , it
shall start running according to the old law provided that the period dose not
exceed the period stipulated in the new law starting from the day such law
enters into force.
Article (5)
Any new law which nullifies a penalty or imposes a more lenient one shall be applied
to offences committed prior to its enactment. If a new law is enacted after the issuance
of a final judgment and such law renders the related criminal act unpunishable, the
enforcement of the judgment shall be halted and its criminal consequences shall end.
Article (6)
A law which imposes stricter penalties does not apply to crimes committed before its
entry into force.
Chapter Two
Application of the Criminal Provisions with Respect to Place
(1) Territorial Jurisdiction
Article (7)
1. Provisions of this Law apply to every person who commits a crime on the territory
of the Kingdom as set forth therein.
2. A crime is deemed to have been committed on the territory of the Kingdom where
one of its elements, or any of the criminal acts which constitute the crime, or any
principle or accessory act, is committed on the territory of the Kingdom.
a. The Kingdom territory includes the airspace covering it, and the
territorial sea to a distance of five kilometers from the coastline and the
airspace covering the territorial sea, and Jordanian ships and air
vessels/aircrafts.
b. And foreign territories occupied by the Jordanian army if the crime
committed affect the security of the army or its interests.
Article (8)