The establishment of the Secretariat of the Council will have an important and an effective role to play in the work of the Supreme Judicial Council and in the support of the judicial authority, as well as achieving the aspirations of the Kingdom’s prestigious judiciary, according to Attorney General.
The Attorney General, Chairman of the Judicial Inspection and member of the Supreme Judicial Council Hamid Habib Ahmed in his speech during a symposium on “Mechanisms of developing the Supreme Judicial Council and the General Secretariat in Kingdom of Bahrain said that steps taken by the Government including the establishment of secretariat of the Council would bolster the entire judicial system.
The symposium was attended by Vice-President of the Supreme Judicial Council, President of the Court of Cassation, Shaikh Khalifa Bin Rashid Al Khalifa, the Public Prosecutor, Dr. Ali Bin Fadhl Al-Buainain and a number of judges and members of the Public Prosecution.
In the speech he delivered during the opening of the works of the symposium, which was organized in cooperation with the American Bar Association, the Vice-President of the Supreme Judicial Council expressed his welcome with the participants in that event. He highlighted that the symposium is focusing on the role of the Supreme Judicial Council and the duties of the General Secretariat in supporting the judicial authority in Kingdom of Bahrain to enrich the judicial future in the Kingdom.
The Vice-President of the Supreme Judicial Council also said that the event reflects the great concern provided by the wise leadership for the judicial authority under the leadership of HM the King.
The Vice-President of the Supreme Judicial Council stressed that the independence of the judicial authority in any country is the most prominent indicator of elevation of countries, and therefore the Bahraini legislator was keen to reinforce in Article 104 of the Constitution of the Kingdom that “No authority of any party on the judge in their ruling, and it is not permissible to interfere in the course of justice, the law ensures the independence of judiciary, and highlights the ensuring of judges and their rulings.”
In consistence with that, the second Article of the Judicial Authority stipulates that “Judges are independent, with no authority over them in the performance of their duties, but the law, namely there is no authority over them but the provisions of the Constitution and the Law.”
Shaikh Khalifa Bin Rashid Al Khalifa said that in reinforcement of such independence, a Decree of Law No. (44) for the year 2012 was promulgated to amend some provisions of the Judicial Authority Law, which was issued by Decree of Law no. (42) for the year 2002, that was considered a quantum leap in the history of the Judicial Authority in the Kingdom.
Shaikh Khalifa Bin Rashid Al Khalifa also said that the Decree related the responsibility of preparing the draft budget before the start of the fiscal year to the President of the Court of Cassation.
Also, in the light of that Decree, the salaries, allowances and advantages system of the judges and members of the public prosecution was amended, and a Royal Order was issued concerning that, based on the proposal of the Supreme Judicial Council. Therefore, a regulation is now being prepared to organize the judges and public prosecution affairs, and thus the judiciary authority has become fully independent from the other two authorities in all of its affairs and works, and the independence of judiciary in the Kingdom has become complete in regard of the legislative and practical areas.
Shaikh Khalifa highlighted that this new developing era requires collective thinking in the possible solutions, particularly the expected role of the General Secretariat of the Council and its duties, as well as transferring the budget of the Supreme Judicial Council from the Ministry of Justice to the General Secretariat of the Council. Shaikh Rashid said that they wanted to benefit from the experiences of others, who preceded them in this regard and to discuss with them these challenges.
Shaikh Khalifa Bin Rashid said that he was sure that the high level of the participants will enrich their discussions with the opinions and conclusions they all need in their march, for the high interest of the judicial authority in the Kingdom.
Chairman of the judicial inspection pointed out the reform steps supporting the independence of judiciary, in the light of care and support by the wise leadership, referring to the Decree of Law No. (44) for the year 2012, which amended some provisions of the Judicial Authority Law No. (42) for the year 2002, and what it has achieved including the financial and administrative independence of the judicial authority.