Parliament approves advertising law with BD20,000 fine for violators

TDT | Manama

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

Parliament yesterday approved tougher advertising rules carrying fines of up to BD20,000 or jail for unlicensed adverts, with the Minister of Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture, His Excellency Eng. Wael Al Mubarak, saying the 1973-era BD50 penalty ‘does not suit our time’ and citing ‘around 11,000’ breaches in the capital over five years.

Al Mubarak said penalties are judicial, allowing a judge to choose between a fine and imprisonment: “Imprisonment is not mandatory, and the judge may suffice with a financial penalty. The aim of tougher penalties is to reduce violations.”

Lives

He added: “Unlawful adverts can spoil the urban scene and endanger pedestrians and road users and, in some cases, lives.”

He said: “The Capital Municipality alone recorded around 11,000 advertising violations over five years.”

The amendments also authorise the Ministry to inspect adverts, remove those that breach the law after at least fifteen days’ notice, revoke licences for a period or permanently, and order restoration at the offender’s expense.

References

Textual edits replace references to the ‘Ministry of Municipalities and Agriculture’ with ‘the Ministry’ and to the ‘Minister of Municipalities and Agriculture’ with ‘the Minister’.

The definitions are reworked so an ‘advertisement’ covers messages to the public or a defined group by image, symbol, sound or light, across materials from wood and metal to plastic and glass.

Prior approval from the relevant authority is required for the subject of any advert.

Licence

Article 16 sets fines between BD1,000 and BD20,000 or imprisonment for advertising without a licence, breaching a licence, providing false information, obtaining a licence by unlawful means, or blocking inspectors or withholding required records, with each unlawful advert drawing its own penalty.

Article 17 fixes a fine of up to BD1,000 for removing, breaking, tearing, defacing or damaging a licensed advert or any part of it.

On scope, Al Mubarak said: “It targets the commercial companies that place these adverts and the contractors who install them.”

On outsourcing urgent removals, he said: “We assign urgent removals to specialised companies where an advert obstructs movement, confuses traffic or breaches content rules; the experience has proved effective.”

Risk

He concluded: “Judicial proceedings can take time, whereas a particular advert may pose an immediate risk. In such cases, we take quick administrative action.”

A new Article 14 bis allows the Minister, with Cabinet approval, to assign duties under the law to other bodies.

Article 5 of the 1973 decree-law, which had formed a committee of concerned entities to oversee application, is repealed.