Shura Council Considers Key Legal Reforms Today

TDT | Manama

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The Shura Council will gather for its 26th meeting of the fourth session in the sixth legislative term. Lawmakers will review important committee reports shaping Bahrain’s legislative and reform direction.

On the agenda are two draft laws prepared by the Foreign Affairs, Defence and National Security Committee. The first proposes amendments to the Reform and Rehabilitation Institution Law issued under Law No. 18 of 2014, while the second focuses on changes to the Penal Code under Decree-Law No. 15 of 1976. Both were submitted through recent royal decrees in 2025.

The discussions are based on observations from the International Labour Organisation, which raised concerns about wording in national legislation that could be interpreted as allowing compulsory labour alongside prison sentences. In response, the proposed amendments aim to clarify intent and align legal language with international standards.

Approval

The committee has recommended approval of both drafts, highlighting Bahrain’s ongoing progress in developing a modern reform and rehabilitation system. It noted that reformation centres in the country are not only correctional facilities but also structured environments offering education, vocational training, healthcare, and social support to help inmates reintegrate into society.

Lawmakers emphasized that Bahrain’s penal approach has increasingly shifted toward restorative justice, alternative sentencing, and rehabilitation-focused policies. This includes initiatives such as open prisons, which allow gradual reintegration into the community and aim to reduce repeat offences.

The first draft law would replace terms such as “work” with “rehabilitation and training,” and “wage” with “reward,” reinforcing the idea that inmate duties center on skill-building rather than labour. The second draft law similarly replaces prison work requirements with structured rehabilitation programmes, further strengthening the shift toward reform-oriented justice.

The committee said these changes would remove any ambiguity, unify legal terminology, and ensure consistency across legislation while reflecting Bahrain’s evolving correctional philosophy.