Shura committee reviews 17 draft laws
Seventeen draft laws, including changes to Bahrain's Penal Code and a set of international agreements, have been reviewed by the Shura Council's Foreign Affairs, Defence and National Security Committee.
Chaired by Dr Ali bin Mohammed Al Rumaihi, the committee held 14 meetings during the third session of the sixth legislative term, covering legislation on criminal law, residency rules, traffic offences, and a range of foreign treaties.
Three proposed amendments to the Penal Code were examined, including one to add a final paragraph to Article 107. The proposal came from five members: Nancy Dina Ely Khudori, Khalid Hussain Al Maskati, Redha Abdulla Faraj, Dr Abdulaziz Hassan Abul, and Dr Bassam Ismail Al Binmohammed.
Other drafts sought to amend the 2017 law on alternative punishments, revise Article 56 of the 2014 Traffic Law, and add a new clause—Article 7 repeated—to the 1965 immigration and residency law. Each of these stemmed from proposals passed by the elected chamber.
International agreements
International agreements featured heavily on the agenda. The committee reviewed treaties with the UAE, Oman, South Korea, Kuwait, Hungary, and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. These covered tax arrangements, investment rules, and maritime cooperation.
Bahrain will also join the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and the 1949 Convention on Road Traffic.
One item concerned the amended World Trade Organization protocol on fisheries support, which has now been added to the Marrakesh Agreement's annex. The committee gave it the green light.
Still under review is a draft law to ratify the Makkah Agreement on anti-corruption cooperation among member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. It was referred to the committee after His Majesty the King ordered the close of the session.
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