The Limits and Challenging Aspects of the Principle of Emotional Conviction of the Criminal Judge: An Analytical Study in Jordanian Legislation

This study dealt with the principle of emotional conviction as a basis of criminal proof system in Jordanian legislation focusing on a serious problematic issue of the existing controversy between the judge freedom of convictiuon (pursuant to Article 147/2of the Code of Criminal Procedure)and the restrictionto specific means of proof (under Artcile 147/3 and Article 283of the Penal Code),in the context of proving facts related to the crime such as (adultrery , breach of trust, and personal status matters in crimes against honor). The study aimed to analyze these controlsand issues and to determine whether they constitute genuine limitations on the principle. Employing both descriptive and analytical approaches –bsed on examination of legal provisions , scholarly opinions, and rulings by the Jordanian Court of Ccassation- the study readched several conclusions. The most important of which is that procedural controls (such as the legality and public nature of evidence ) and substantive conrols (such as the requirement to provide reaosns for judgemnets and the restriction to specific types of evidence ) do not confluct with the principle of judicial convictionbased on onscience, rtaher they regulate it and and prevent it from devolving into absolute authority and the restriction set forth in Article 283of the Penal Code ( regarding the crime of adultery ) applies to the *means * of proof rather than the judge's power of conviction, thereby preserving the judge's discertion to evaluate such eveidence once it is establsihed. The study also revealed deficiencies in the current text of Article 237of the Code of Crriminla Procedure , concluding that cassation review does not extend to *how* the judge reached a conviction, but rather to *what* the judge was convinced of and the validity of the underlying reasoning. The studt recommende ammending Article 237 , called upon the legislator to clarify the parameters of exceptions to the principle of free proof, and emphasized the importance of detailed reasoning in judicial training.