Cabinet hails high-profile visits to Bahrain

The Cabinet has welcomed granting His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa the "Development Work Shied" by the Arab League.
HH Deputy Premier Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa extended, on behalf of the session, deepest congratulations to HRH the Prime Minister on the well-deserved Arab honour conferred on him in recognition of his great contributions to progress in the kingdom, as well as his pioneering role in the comprehensive modernisation, renaissance and sustainable development in Bahrain in various fields.
Chairing the regular weekly Cabinet session, HRH Premier credited the Bahraini people with the Arab honouring, noting that Bahrainis, thanks to their determination and dedication, have made the Kingdom a symbol of development and progress, under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
The Prime Minister extended thanks and appreciation to the Arab League for the honouring, which he described as a "source of pride", Cabinet Secretary General Dr. Yasser bin Isa Al-Nasser said in a statement following the session, held at the Gudaibiya Palace today.
The Cabinet lauded the visits made by presidents of brotherly and friendly countries to Bahrain at the invitation of HM King Hamad.
In this regard, the session welcomed the visits of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir and the Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to Bahrain, noting that the high-profile visits are strategically important and reflect the depth of the Kingdom's solid relations with these countries, and the status of Bahrain, under the leadership of HM the King, at the Arab regional and international levels.
The Cabinet condemned, in the strongest terms, the terrorist attacks that targeted the Mar Girgis Coptic Church (Saint George) in Tanta and Saint Mark's church in Alexandria in Egypt, and offered warmest condolences to the Egyptian President, government, people and the victims' relatives, wishing the wounded speedy recovery.
The session stressed that "black terrorism" will never succeed in undermining the robust national unity in Egypt, nor will it be able to affect the spirit of tolerance and co-existence that distinguishes Egyptians.
Terrorism will also fail to sow seeds of division and sectarian strife in Egypt, given the its people's awareness and cohesion, the Cabinet said, reiterating Bahrain's solidarity with brotherly Egypt's leadership, government and people in confronting such heinous crimes that are forbidden by all divine religions and rejected by humanity.
HRH the Prime Minister gave directives to the relevant authorities to constantly review and update data, and regularly assess the services and information provided for investment to enable investors and those wishing to invest in Bahrain to have access to up-to-date information about the distinguished services, facilitates, incentives and promising investment fields in the country.
The session discussed three draft laws that are crucial to developing the mechanisms of criminal justice and fast-tracking adjudication procedures in the civil and commercial disputes.
In this regard, the Cabinet approved a draft law on amending some provisions of the Civil and Commercial Procedures Law for the aim of facilitating judicial proceedings and expediting the settlement of disputes before the judiciary by introducing modern systems of litigation and the adoption of advanced technology in courtrooms to ensure proper time management and prevent prolongation of litigation.
Under the amendment, highlighted in the memorandum presented by the Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments, a "Case Management Office" will be established in order to prepare lawsuits. The office's electronic reports will be treated as legal documents.
The bill to amend the Civil and Commercial Procedures Law promulgated by Decree-Law 12/1971, was referred to the Council of Representatives in accordance with the constitutional and legal procedures in force, and will replace a draft law on amending Royal Decree 88/2008, currently discussed by the Legislature.
The session also discussed a draft law on alternative penalties and procedures, which allows judges to hand down alternative punishment instead of the original one according to some conditions and regulations. The bill, presented by the justice minister and referred to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs, stipulates that the alternative penalty should be freedom-depriving, but paves the way for reintegrating the convict into society.
The Cabinet also discussed a draft Juvenile Correctional Justice law to protect children from ill-treatment. The draft law, included in a memorandum presented by the justice minister and referred to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs, will replace the existing Juvenile Law, and stipulates the establishment of Juvenile Correctional Justice courts to be in charge of crimes committed by children aged between 15 and 18. 
The bill gives top priority to the child's interests and creates unconventional procedures that do not remove them from their family environment and protects them from ill-treatment. 
The session approved plans to create a new land transportation activity allowing licensed companies and individuals to engage in taxi and radio metre taxi activities in cooperation with companies that use smart phones in public transportation.
In this context, a draft law on amending Edict 11/2015 on licensing regulations , included in the memorandum presented by the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, was referred to the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs.
The Cabinet endorsed the signing of four memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and three executive programmes during the next meeting of the High Joint Bahraini-Kuwaiti Committee.
The MoUs are related to parliamentary cooperation, cooperation in the field of central and traditional markets, e-commerce, as well as cooperation between the Bahrain's Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) in Bahrain, and the Ministry of Electricity and Water in Kuwait.
The session also approved the signing of the protocol amending the agreement on the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital between Bahrain and the Philippines, as shown in the memorandum presented by the Minister of Finance.
It also approved a protocol on air transportation services signed between Bahrain and the Philippines on August 29, 1992, and amended by the protocol signed between the two countries on December 15, 2003.
The Cabinet referred two draft laws to the Council of Representatives along with the government's opinion on them. They included a draft law on amending some provisions of the Child Law, proposed by the Shura Council, and another, proposed by the Representatives Council, on adding a new article to decree-law 54/2002 on the by-laws of the Council of Representatives.

Source : BNA