More powers for military courts

Manama : It’s now official that military courts in Bahrain could prosecute civilians who are involved in certain cases that are regulated by the law.

This comes as His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa yesterday ratified and issued the Constitutional Amendment for the year 2017 after it was endorsed by the Shura Council and the Council of Representatives.

The amendment stipulated the replacement of Clause (b) of Article 105 of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Constitution with the following text, “The Law governs the military judiciary and defines its jurisdictions for Bahrain Defence Force, the National Guard and the Public Security Forces.”

The previous text had stipulated that “the jurisdiction of military courts shall be confined to military offences committed by members of the Defence Force, the National Guard, and the Security Forces. It does not extend to other persons except when martial law is declared and within the bounds prescribed by law.”

It was announced yesterday that the amendment becomes effective from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

As reported earlier, both councils stressed that the amendment protects soldiers and policemen and that civilians that are involved in attacks on military or security facilities or personnel should be tried before the military judiciary.

Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa previously explained, “In such circumstances, military judges are the most suitable to judge these cases. The military judiciary is more capable of understanding military acts. Civilians will not be prosecuted by military courts, but those involved in acts of terror and risk people’s lives will.”