Which Court Hears Paternity Claims in Jordan?

Subject-matter jurisdiction: lineage cases for Muslims in Jordan belong exclusively to the Sharia courts, like all personal-status matters — marriage, divorce, maintenance, custody, and inheritance. A claim to establish or deny lineage, or to confirm a marriage, is filed before the first-instance Sharia court, whose rulings are appealable to the Sharia Court of Appeal under the usual rules.

Territorial jurisdiction: the competent court is determined under the Sharia procedural rules. The general default is the court of the defendant's place of residence, subject to the exceptions and options that apply in certain claims. In practice, the lawyer identifies the correct court from the parties' residences and the case's circumstances.

Special situations

• The father has died: the claim is brought against the heirs and remains within the Sharia court's jurisdiction.
• Parties abroad: a party being outside Jordan does not bar the claim, but service of process takes longer under the prescribed procedures.
• Non-Muslims: personal-status matters for non-Muslims fall to their own councils/tribunals under the governing legislation — a different track requiring its own advice.

Why this matters

Filing before the wrong court wastes time and fees and invites procedural objections that delay the merits. Verifying subject-matter and territorial jurisdiction is the first building block of a lawyer's case plan.

This is a general answer based on available Jordanian legal sources and does not replace advice from a specialized lawyer in an actual dispute.