On Friday, Jordanian television reported that Prince Faisal was sworn in as deputy to his brother King Abdullah, in the presence of a ministerial body, according to the official Jordanian news agency, Petra.
Jordan’s Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah was sworn in a while ago as deputy king, which raised the eyebrows of some media outlets.
Professor of constitutional law Noufan Al-Ajarmeh told Al-Hurra: “It is a routine procedure, where the king, when traveling outside the country, chooses one of his brothers or the crown prince, and he must take the constitutional oath before the Council of Ministers.”
“It is customary to choose the crown prince for this assignment, but perhaps the latter will accompany the king on his travels abroad,” he added.
King Abdullah is scheduled to attend a summit in Jeddah this month, during which US President Joe Biden will meet with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Iraq and Egypt.
Al-Ajarmah ruled out the existence of special reasons behind choosing Prince Faisal, who said that he had previously assumed this assignment. He stressed that “as soon as the king returns from abroad, the assignment is dropped.”
Jordanian writers Malik Al-Athamneh and Nidal Mansour describe to Al-Hurra what happened as a very normal routine procedure stipulated by the constitution.
Al-Athamneh said: “In the event of the king’s absence, even if for hours, any of the princes deputizes for him, in order to prevent a constitutional vacuum, and it is not necessary that the deputy is the crown prince.”
And the powers of the Viceroy are very restricted in the management of the day-to-day work. As soon as the king returns, the mandate falls, according to Al-Athmaneh.
Last April, the king chose the crown prince as his deputy. Al-Athamneh says: “The king usually chooses his son for this assignment, but it seems that he is outside the state, so the king chose Prince Faisal.”
And whether there were specific reasons for choosing Prince Faisal, he said: “There is never. Princes Ali and Raad have assumed this assignment before; it is just an assignment to manage affairs in the Royal Court.”
Mansour says: “The king has the power to choose whomever he sees fit to act on his behalf, provided that he takes the constitutional oath. It seems that Prince Hussein will accompany the king on his travels outside the country, so he chose Prince Faisal,” stressing also that this assignment falls the moment the king returns to the state.