Debt Imprisonment and Criminalization of Economic Conditions in Jordan

This paper examines debt imprisonment in Jordan as a continuing legal and social convention criminalizing economic incapacity. Anchored on the Execution Law, custodial enforcement of civil debts continues despite international and regional attempts at proportionate and rights-based approaches. Embracing a qualitative case study strategy, the study integrates doctrine-based exploration of statutory law with empirical data from court proceedings and semi-structured interviews with judges, lawyers, debtors, and civil society activists. The study establishes that imprisonment neither guarantees repayment nor forestalls default but instead institutionalises poverty at disproportionate levels amongst poor families and erodes confidence in the judiciary. Discretion is skewed across judges such that while a few use routine custodial actions, others resort to negotiated settlements. The study concludes that prevailing practices breach Article 11 of the ICCPR and broader principles of human rights. It concludes by advocating for reforms embracing civil remedies, structured repayment procedures, and increased social protection against punitive incarceration.