The Crimes of Defamation, Slander, Insult and Smearing in Jordanian Law and Their Penalties
A single post on social media, or a comment written in a moment of anger, can turn into a criminal complaint that exposes its author to imprisonment and a fine, and the person who was wronged may find themselves facing widespread abuse that is hard to contain once it is too late. Jordanian law regulates this matter through two parallel tracks: the Jordanian Penal Code No. 16 of 1960 and its amendments, which governs the crimes of defamation, slander and insult in their traditional form, and Cybercrime Law No. 17 of 2023, which widened the scope of protection and increased the penalties where the abuse takes place over the information network. The line between a permissible statement and a punishable crime is fine and tangled, and it varies with the means used, the degree of publicity and the facts of each file, which makes an early legal assessment indispensable for both parties.
This article explains what Jordanian law treats as defamation, slander, insult or smearing, how each description differs from the others, and why the electronic dimension shifts the balance of both the crime and the penalty, without becoming a procedural guide that replaces a lawyer.
1. Distinguishing Defamation, Slander, Insult and Smearing
Jordanian law distinguishes between the forms of attack on honor and standing according to the nature of the act committed, not according to how serious the abuse seems to the person who committed it. This distinction is not a theoretical detail, since it brings differences in legal characterization, penalty and the conditions of proof, and it is one of the first points your lawyer examines when reading the facts.
Defamation (dhamm) consists of attributing a specific matter or act to a person, even by way of doubt or question, where that matter would harm their honor or dignity or expose them to people's scorn and contempt, whether or not the matter constitutes a crime, according to the definition in paragraph (1) of Article 188 of the Penal Code. The essence here is attributing a specific matter to the person.
Slander (qadh) consists of an attack on a person's dignity, honor or standing without stating a specific matter, as defined in paragraph (2) of the same article. It is enough that the words contain something that would lower the person's standing or harm their reputation; slander is general abuse that does not rest on a particular matter.
Insult (tahqir) is any contempt or abuse, other than defamation and slander, directed at the person face to face by words or gestures, or by writing or drawing that was not made public, or by telephone call, or by rough treatment, as defined in Article 190 of the Penal Code. Unlike defamation and slander, insult does not depend on publicity; it may occur between the two parties alone.
Smearing (tashhir) is the publication of information, images, recordings or statements relating to a specific person with the intention of harming their reputation or damaging their social or professional standing. Smearing was not an independent crime under the traditional Penal Code; it was treated as a form of defamation, slander or insult where it was combined with publication and publicity. With the Cybercrime Law, some forms of electronic smearing have become crimes in their own right with their own penalties.
| Legal description | Short definition | Distinguishing element | Usual means | Simple example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defamation | Attributing a specific matter that harms honor | Attributing a specific matter to the person | Speech, writing or publication | Accusing a person of committing a particular disgraceful act |
| Slander | Insulting expressions without attributing a matter | General abuse with no specific matter | Words and descriptions | Describing a person in terms that lower their dignity |
| Insult | Abuse or contempt other than defamation and slander | Directed at the person directly, even without publicity | Speech, gestures, calls and unpublished writing | Contempt directed at a person in a phone call |
| Smearing | Publication intended to damage reputation | Publication and spread with intent to harm | Posts, images and recordings | Circulating an image or recording to harm a person |
Determining which of these descriptions applies to a particular set of facts is not a linguistic question; it is in itself a legal question that depends on the wording of the statement, its context and the means by which it was published, and it is one of the points the lawyer settles after reviewing the file, not by a surface reading of the provision.
2. The Elements of the Crimes of Defamation, Slander and Insult
These crimes rest on two basic elements, to which the publicity requirement is added in certain cases. Understanding these elements shows why the harshness of a statement alone is not enough for the crime to exist, and why liability may be ruled out despite apparent abuse.
The material element consists of the act of attribution or the abusive expression made by the offender, and it may take many forms: oral speech and telephone calls, writing in all its forms, drawings, images, films and caricatures, and signs and gestures carrying an insulting meaning. This element is established once the abusive act is made and reaches others in a way that affects the victim's dignity or reputation.
The mental element requires criminal intent, meaning that the offender knows that what they are saying would harm the victim or damage their standing, and that their will is directed toward publishing those statements or conveying them to others. Assessing whether this intent is present, especially with statements open to more than one meaning, is among the most delicate things a lawyer evaluates, because it may be the key to ruling out or establishing liability.
3. The Publicity Requirement and Its Effect on Whether the Crime Exists
Publicity is an essential component of the crimes of defamation and slander, because the purpose of criminalization is to protect reputation in the eyes of society, not merely to protect personal feelings. This is why the picture of the file changes fundamentally depending on whether publicity is present or absent.
Article 189 of the Penal Code sets out the forms in which defamation or slander must take place to be punishable: defamation or slander in person, in a gathering in the presence of the person attacked or in a place where other people can hear it; defamation or slander in the person's absence during a meeting with many people; written defamation or slander through what is published and broadcast among people or distributed to a group of them; and defamation or slander through newspapers and other printed matter and means of publication.
If the statement did not take place in one of these forms, its harshness alone is not enough for the crime to exist. Whether one of these forms applies to a particular set of facts, such as abuse spoken in front of a single person or contained in a private message, depends on the details of the place, those present and the means. Assessing whether publicity is present in the disputed facts is one of the points a specialist lawyer raises early, because it may be the difference between the crime existing and not existing.
Practical note: What counts as public in digital publication differs from what counts as public in a narrow setting; a post in a small closed group may be assessed differently from a public post open to everyone, and the dividing line is affected by the nature of the platform, the audience reached and the circumstances of each case. This is a matter on which a general impression is not enough without a careful legal review or consulting a specialist lawyer.
4. The Electronic Dimension and How It Shifts the Balance of the Crime
The widespread use of the internet and social platforms has given rise to new forms of attack on reputation and honor, so that posts, comments, messages, images and videos have become common means of committing defamation, slander and smearing. Faced with this reality, the Jordanian legislature issued the Cybercrime Law to deal with crimes committed over the information network, and then followed it with Cybercrime Law No. 17 of 2023, which widened the scope of legal protection and increased the penalties.
Among the main acts covered by this framework are publishing statements of defamation, slander or insult over the internet, abusing people through social media sites, publishing or circulating offensive images and clips, editing or fabricating images and recordings with the intention of smearing, and using electronic means to damage people's reputations.
The electronic dimension does not merely add a new means; it changes the nature of the matter in three respects. The first is how easily publicity is achieved and how widely offensive content spreads to large numbers of people in a short time, which often makes publicity present by the mere act of publishing. The second is a marked increase in the penalty compared with the traditional form. The third is that the digital trace remains capable of being preserved and documented, so electronic publication does not disappear simply by being deleted. Because these components are intertwined, republishing or sharing content may itself give rise to liability, which is set out in detail in the article dedicated to the provisions of Cybercrime Law No. 17 of 2023.
The Same Abuse Under the Penal Code and the Cybercrime Law
The same hurtful word may end with a fine of no more than twenty-five Jordanian dinars (JOD) if it was said in a gathering, and may reach imprisonment and a fine of twenty thousand dinars if it was written in a post or a message. The means determines the provision, and the provision determines the penalty. The following table brings together the provisions the lawyer compares in these files, with the penalty as stated in each provision:
| Form | Governing provision | Publicity element | Penalty as stated in the provision | Complaint and prosecution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defamation of an individual by non-electronic means | Articles 188 and 358 of the Penal Code | The forms in Article 189: in person, in absence, in writing, printed matter | Imprisonment from two months to one year | Depends on the person attacked claiming the private right (the victim's personal claim) (Article 364) |
| Slander of an individual by non-electronic means | Articles 188 and 359 | One of the forms in Article 189 | Imprisonment from one week to three months or a fine from five dinars to twenty-five dinars | Article 364 |
| Insult of an individual | Articles 190, 359 and 360 | Not required; it occurs face to face, by phone call or by unpublished writing | Depending on its form: the penalty in Article 359, or imprisonment for not more than one month or a fine of not more than ten dinars under Article 360 | Article 364 |
| Defamation or slander directed at an employee in the course of their duties or at an official body | Articles 191 and 193 | One of the forms in Article 189 | Defamation: imprisonment from three months to two years. Slander: imprisonment from one month to six months or a fine from ten dinars to fifty dinars | Determined by the lawyer according to the status of the body attacked |
| Defamation, slander or insult over the information network or social platforms | Article 15(a) of Cybercrime Law No. 17 of 2023 | Sending, resending or publishing electronically | Imprisonment for not less than three months or a fine of 5,000 to 20,000 dinars or both penalties | Without a complaint if directed at an authority of the State, an official body or a public administration (Article 15(b)) |
| Spreading or attributing acts to a person without right that would amount to character assassination | Article 16 of the same Law | Electronic means | Imprisonment for not less than three months or a fine of 5,000 to 20,000 dinars or both penalties | The provision contains no specific rule on the complaint |
| Publishing a private image, recording or video with the intention of smearing or abuse | Article 20(a) of the same Law | Publishing electronically, even if the material was obtained lawfully | Imprisonment for not less than three months and a fine of 20,000 to 40,000 dinars | Prosecution on the basis of a complaint |
| Fabricating, editing or processing a private image or recording with the intention of smearing | Article 20(b) of the same Law | Editing by electronic means | Imprisonment for not less than two years and a fine of 25,000 to 50,000 dinars | The provision contains no specific rule on the complaint |
The difference between the two statutes goes beyond the size of the penalty. The Penal Code makes an action for defamation, slander and insult conditional on the person attacked taking the position of private claimant, whereas the Public Prosecution pursues electronic abuse without a complaint where it is directed at an official body. Among the cases in which Article 28 of the Cybercrime Law doubles the penalty are multiple victims, repetition of the crime, and the offender exploiting their position. For this reason, choosing the provision on which the complaint is built, or the one contested in defense, is itself a legal point that merits consultation: the wrong description may cost the injured party protection the law provides, and may burden the respondent with a more severe penalty than applies to their act.
5. The Prescribed Penalties in General
The penalty varies according to the nature of the crime, the party attacked and the means used, and understanding this variation in its general outlines is enough to grasp the size of the risk, without serving as a basis for estimating the penalty for a particular set of facts.
Under the Penal Code, the penalty for the crimes of defamation, slander and insult ranges between imprisonment and a fine, and is increased if the crime is committed against a public employee, an official body or a public authority in the course of its duties. The legislature also increased the penalty for offending His Majesty the King or members of the Royal Family, given their special constitutional standing.
Under the Cybercrime Law, the legislature moved toward a marked increase given how easily offensive content reaches large numbers of people. Article 15(a) provides for punishing anyone who intentionally sends, resends or publishes data or information involving the defamation, slander or insult of any person, over the information network, a website or social media platforms, with imprisonment for not less than three months or a fine of not less than 5,000 dinars and not more than 20,000 dinars, or both of these penalties. The penalty then rises in the other forms listed in the previous table, until it reaches, for fabricating or editing private images or recordings with the intention of smearing under Article 20(b), imprisonment for not less than two years and a fine of not less than 25,000 dinars and not more than 50,000 dinars.
These figures show the gravity of the risk, but they do not apply mechanically to every file; determining the applicable provision and whether the conditions for aggravation or the circumstances for mitigation are present varies with the facts of the case, and the lawyer settles this after examining the correct characterization of the act.
6. Special Rules That Distinguish These Crimes
The crimes of defamation, slander and insult are subject to certain rules that make their course different from that of other crimes, and knowing these rules in general terms shows why these files need early attention.
These include that bringing the action is in many cases tied to the complaint being accompanied by a private-right claim, and that the public-right action (the State's right to prosecute) may lapse in some of these crimes upon waiver of the private right in accordance with the provisions of the law. The law also allows the heirs of a deceased person to bring the action if the abuse was directed at a deceased person, and permits mitigating excuses or excuses that remove the penalty to be applied where their legal conditions are met.
These rules make timing and procedural wording highly consequential; a waiver in the wrong place, a delay in filing the complaint, or an ill-considered admission may change the fate of the file in a way that is hard to undo. Hence the same warning recurs in these files: do not make any statement or written apology regarding a disputed post before consulting a specialist lawyer, because what is written may later be read as an admission.
7. What the Lawyer Examines on the Complainant's Side and on the Respondent's Side
A defamation and slander file is really two files, and each party in it has different questions that the lawyer answers before any step.
On the side of the injured party, the lawyer examines the most appropriate description of the act as between the provisions of the Penal Code and those of the Cybercrime Law, whether publicity is present, and whether the account or number can be linked to a specific person. The lawyer also assesses the damage, since Article 365 of the Penal Code allows the private claimant to request, in the same action, compensation for their material and moral damage.
On the respondent's side, the lawyer starts from a point many people overlook: the truth of the published matter is usually not enough to rule out liability. Article 362 of the Penal Code does not allow a person who committed defamation or slander to justify themselves by proving the truth or notoriety of what they attributed, unless the subject of the defamation is an offense or the subject of the slander is legally counted among crimes. The lawyer then looks at whether the chosen provision applies to the act at all, whether intent is present, and the effect of mutual abuse, since Article 363 allows the court to reduce or remove the penalty if the person attacked brought contempt on themselves by an unjustified act or responded to abuse with abuse of the same kind.
No table answers these questions on behalf of the file, because they depend on the wording of the statement, the platform, the circle of people who saw it, and the status of the person attacked. These are components the lawyer weighs together before deciding on a position.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between defamation, slander and insult?
Defamation consists of attributing a specific matter to a person that harms their honor or dignity, even if it is true. Slander is general abuse using degrading words or descriptions without attributing a particular matter. Insult is any abuse or insulting statement directed at the person without attributing a matter. This distinction between the three descriptions affects the applicable provision, what must be proven and the limits of the penalty, and determining the most accurate description for a particular statement is one of the points the lawyer settles after reviewing its wording and context.
What is the penalty for defamation, slander and insult in Jordanian law?
Under the Penal Code, defamation of an individual is punishable by imprisonment from two months to one year under Article 358, and slander by imprisonment from one week to three months or a fine from five dinars to twenty-five dinars under Article 359. Defamation directed at an employee in the course of their duties or at an official body becomes punishable by imprisonment from three months to two years under Article 191. Abuse over social platforms is governed by Article 15 of Cybercrime Law No. 17 of 2023, and its penalty is imprisonment for not less than three months or a fine of 5,000 to 20,000 dinars or both. Determining the provision that applies to a particular set of facts is a matter the lawyer settles after reading the file.
What is the penalty for cursing in Jordanian law?
The law does not recognize "cursing" as a separate description; it is characterized according to its content. If it involves attributing a specific matter, it is defamation; if it affects the person's dignity without a specific matter, it is slander; and if it is abuse directed at the person directly, it is insult, which may be punished by imprisonment for not more than one month or a fine of not more than ten dinars under Article 360. Cursing that is published or sent electronically, however, falls under Article 15 of the Cybercrime Law with its more severe penalty. The correct description of the statement is the first thing the lawyer determines, because it is what determines the penalty.
What is the penalty for abuse and cursing without witnesses?
The absence of witnesses does not necessarily mean the crime does not exist. Insult under Article 190 of the Penal Code may occur face to face or by telephone call with no one else present, unlike defamation and slander, which require one of the forms of publicity in Article 189. Abuse sent in an electronic message falls within the scope of Article 15 of the Cybercrime Law, which mentions sending alongside publishing. But the existence of the crime is one thing and proving it is another, and assessing what is enough to prove facts without witnesses is a matter the lawyer evaluates according to the circumstances.
What does Article 15 of the Cybercrime Law punish?
Article 15(a) of Cybercrime Law No. 17 of 2023 punishes anyone who intentionally sends, resends or publishes, over the information network, websites or social media platforms, data or information involving false news that targets national security and social peace, or the defamation, slander or insult of any person. The penalty is imprisonment for not less than three months or a fine of 5,000 to 20,000 dinars or both, and the Public Prosecution pursues it without a complaint if it is directed at an official body under paragraph (b). Because the provision covers resending, liability may arise for sharing itself, a point the lawyer assesses in each file.
Does Jordanian law punish smearing and damaging a person's reputation?
Yes. What is commonly described as smearing, damaging reputation or attacking honor usually falls under the crimes of defamation, slander and insult, or within the crimes under the Cybercrime Law where it takes place over the internet, including Article 16, which punishes anyone who, without right, spreads or attributes to a person acts that would amount to character assassination. What matters is not the name a person gives to what they suffered, but the precise legal description of the act: did it involve attributing a matter, was publicity present, and what means was used. Characterizing the facts under their correct criminal description is a first step the lawyer takes before filing the complaint or responding to it.
Is every offensive post on social media a crime?
Not necessarily. The crime requires the material element and criminal intent, and publicity as the case may be, as well as the legal provision applying to the facts. The assessment of publicity is affected by the nature of the platform and the audience reached, so publication in a small closed group may be assessed differently from public publication open to everyone. Liability may be ruled out in certain forms despite apparent abuse, and this is a matter that is not settled by reading the post alone.
Does the criminal action lapse through waiver or settlement?
In some of these crimes the public-right action may lapse upon waiver of the private right in accordance with the provisions of the law, but this is conditional and varies according to the legal description of the act and the circumstances of the case. The timing and wording of the waiver are delicate matters that merit a legal review before taking that step.
Legal Consultation
The crimes of defamation, slander, insult and smearing are sensitive files on both sides: on the side of the injured party, who faces widespread abuse that may be hard to contain and needs well-considered legal action, and on the side of the respondent, who may face imprisonment and a fine of up to 20,000 dinars under Article 15 of the Cybercrime Law, and more than that in the forms of smearing with private content, and so needs a solid defense from the first moment. Because the line between a permissible statement and a punishable crime depends on the fine points of publicity, intent and means, any hasty step, whether a statement, a waiver or a counter-post, may change the fate of the file in a way that is hard to undo. For defense and representation in defamation, slander and other criminal cases, or to read more on related matters in online blackmail and its penalty, civil compensation for damage in Jordanian law and the crimes of threats in the Jordanian Penal Code, you can contact Alabwini Law Firm.
