Shura blocks plan to extend Court Appeal deadlines in Environment Law

TDT | Manama

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The Shura Council voted yesterday to block a bid to extend court appeal deadlines under Environment Law, backing its Public Utilities and Environment Committee’s call to keep the limit at 30 days.

Before taking that decision, members voted down a request to postpone the vote for two more weeks for further study.

Twenty members opposed postponement, four abstained and nine supported it.

Vote

The Council then voted in favour of the committee’s recommendation to reject the draft law in principle and returned it to the lower chamber.

The proposal would have amended paragraph (a) of Article 113 of Law No. 7 of 2022 on the Environment, giving a person whose grievance is refused 60 days to appeal to the competent court from the date they are notified, instead of 30. It was prepared on the basis of a proposed law submitted by Parliament.

Justice Minister, His Excellency Nawaf Al Maawda, supported the committee’s view, telling members that the timetable already follows “30/30/30”.

He said “the last thirty does not mean delaying”, adding: “During the thirty days, the person concerned can file the appeal,” and then use the court process “to complete all documents and prepare the required papers in a way that achieves the court’s full satisfaction”.

He warned that longer time limits can cause problems once a decision has already been put into effect.

“Extending the period may have practical effects, especially if the decision has been activated or implemented, and then it becomes necessary to revert to the previous situation,” he said, adding that a shorter window is meant to “speed up the settlement of decisions and rulings”.

Committee rapporteur Ali Al Shehabi said the aim was “to grant concerned persons sufficient time to examine the decision carefully” before going to court, but told the chamber that “this objective is already achieved” under the current text.