“Around 17 cases had already been settled while over 35 more are pending until procedures are done.”
The Minister concluded his meetings with 20 of Bahrain’s political societies, in an attempt to encourage them to reach common ground and mutual understanding. A second round of meetings with more of these societies will be scheduled for the coming period.
Concerning the societies’ response to what has been put forward in the meetings the Minister commented: Some societies had a positive attitude towards reaching an understanding. Whereas there are still those who expressed a clear rejection for a sit down with other societies.
The Civil Settlement Office was created at the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments on 18 March 2012. The initiative is part of the Government’s desire to award appropriate compensation to injured parties without delay. It also extends to be included as part of Government’s national reconciliation programs, as recommended by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry’s (BICI) report. The groups covered by the Civil Settlement initiative include the families of the deceased and cases of injury in the context of the BICI report. The Civil Settlement Office awarded $2,600,000 in compensation 17 cases as a first phase earlier this year.