Cabinet reviews draft laws

Manama : The Cabinet session held yesterday under the chairmanship of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa discussed three draft laws that are crucial to developing the mechanisms of criminal justice and fast-tracking adjudication procedures in the civil and commercial disputes.

In this regard, the Cabinet approved a draft law on amending some provisions of the Civil and Commercial Procedures Law for the aim of facilitating judicial proceedings and expediting the settlement of disputes before the judiciary by introducing modern systems of litigation and the adoption of advanced technology in courtrooms to ensure proper time management and prevent prolongation of litigation.

Under the amendment, highlighted in the memorandum presented by the Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments, a “Case Management Office” will be established in order to prepare lawsuits. The office’s electronic reports will be treated as legal documents.

The bill to amend the Civil and Commercial Procedures Law promulgated by Decree-Law 12/1971, was referred to the Council of Representatives in accordance with the constitutional and legal procedures in force, and will replace a draft law on amending Royal Decree 88/2008, currently discussed by the Legislature.

The session also discussed a draft law on alternative penalties and procedures, which allows judges to hand down alternative punishment instead of the original one according to some conditions and regulations. The bill, presented by the justice minister and referred to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs, stipulates that the alternative penalty should be freedom-depriving, but paves the way for reintegrating the convict into society.

The Cabinet also discussed a draft Juvenile Correctional Justice law to protect children from ill-treatment. The draft law, included in a memorandum presented by the justice minister and referred to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs, will replace the existing Juvenile Law, and stipulates the establishment of Juvenile Correctional Justice courts to be in charge of crimes committed by children aged between 15 and 18. 

The bill gives top priority to the child’s interests and creates unconventional procedures that do not remove them from their family environment and protects them from ill-treatment. 

HRH the Prime Minister also gave directives to the authorities to constantly review and update data, and regularly assess the services and information provided for investment to enable investors and those wishing to invest in Bahrain to have access to up-to-date information about the distinguished services, facilitates, incentives and promising investment fields in the country.

Cabinet decisions

The session approved plans to create a new land transportation activity allowing licensed companies and individuals to engage in taxi and radio metre taxi activities in cooperation with companies that use smart phones in public transportation. In this context, a draft law on amending Edict 11/2015 on licensing regulations, included in the memorandum presented by the Minister of Transportation and Telecom, was referred to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs.

The Cabinet endorsed the signing of four memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and three executive programmes during the next meeting of the High Joint Bahraini-Kuwaiti Committee. The MoUs are related to parliamentary cooperation, cooperation in the field of central and traditional markets, e-commerce, as well as cooperation between the Bahrain’s Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) in Bahrain, and the Ministry of Electricity and Water in Kuwait.

The session approved the signing of the protocol amending the agreement on the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital between Bahrain and the Philippines, as shown in the memorandum presented by the Minister of Finance. The Cabinet also approved a protocol on air transportation services signed between Bahrain and the Philippines on August 29, 1992, and amended by the protocol signed between the two countries on December 15, 2003.

The Cabinet referred two draft laws to the Council of Representatives along with the government’s opinion on them. They included a draft law on amending some provisions of the Child Law, proposed by the Shura Council, and another, proposed by the Representatives Council, on adding a new article to decree-law 54/2002 on the by-laws of the Council of Representatives.

Visits  hailed

The Cabinet session also lauded presidents of brotherly and friendly countries who are expected to visit Bahrain at the invitation of HM King Hamad. In this regard, the session welcomed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir and the Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to Bahrain, noting that the high-profile visits of these leaders are strategically important and reflect the depth of the Kingdom’s solid relations with these countries, and the status of Bahrain, under the leadership of HM the King, at the Arab regional and international levels.