Wasting Public Money Crime in Accordance with Jordanian Law

Abstract

This study aims to determine the legal framework for the wasting public money crime in accordance with Jordanian law and to determine the legislator's position on confronting these crimes to preserve public money and prevent infringement. The study follows the descriptive analytical approach to achieve its objectives, based on extrapolating legal texts related to corruption and economic crimes and analysing them to reach a legal definition of the crime of wasting public money and determine the punitive policy that the legislator followed against its perpetrators. The study reaches several results, the most prominent of which is that, despite the seriousness of the public money crime on the national economy, the Jordanian legislator did not specify the nature of this crime, the actions that led to it, and the punishment imposed on its perpetrators, except for what was approved in the context of Article (16). From the perspective of Integrity and Anti-Corruption Law, any act or omission that leads to the waste of public funds is considered corruption. Therefore, this matter is addressed through the traditional text contained in the context of Article (175) of the Penal Code, in addition to the texts included in the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission Law, and the Crimes Law. Economic. The study recommended that the Jordanian legislator amend Article (16) of the Anti-Corruption Dispute Commission Law by adding a text specifying the legal framework for wasting public money and identifying the acts whose commission causes this crime to occur. Also, the cases represent a failure to act and result in the crime of wasting public money to prevent multiple interpretations and legal interpretations according to the principle of "no interpretation in the text". In addition to the recommendation to develop internal control methods in government institutions, especially with regard to the aspects of proper spending of their budget items, while emphasising the commitment of all employees to the code of professional conduct and compliance with national integrity standards, the most prominent of which is preserving public money and not infringing upon or wasting it.