In its fifth session of the fourth regular session of the sixth legislative term, which will be held tomorrow (Sunday), the Shura Council will discuss the report of the response committee to the supreme royal speech, which was presented by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the great king of the country, may God protect and preserve him, during the patronage and honor of His Majesty, may God support him, for the opening ceremony of the fourth regular session of the sixth legislative term of the Shura and Representatives Councils. The Council is considering the draft response prepared by the committee headed by His Excellency Mr. Jamal Muhammad Fakhro, First Vice President of the Council, and the membership of each of their Excellencies members: Dr. Jihad Abdullah Al-Fadil, Second Deputy Speaker of the Shura Council, Dr. Anwar Khalifa Al-Sada, Dr. Abdulaziz Hassan Abel, Mr. Fouad Ahmed Al-Haji, Mrs. Lina Habib Qasim, Dr. Muhammad Ali Hassan Ali, Dr. Muhammad Ali Al-Khuzai, Mrs. Nancy Dina Elie Khaduri, Mrs. Hala Ramzi Fayez, Dr. Hani Ali Al-Saati, Mr. Hisham Hashem Al-Qassab. The Council will also discuss the report of the Foreign Affairs, Defense and National Security Committee regarding a draft law to ratify the Makkah Al-Mukarramah Agreement for the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in the field of enforcing anti-corruption laws, which aims to enhance cooperation between law enforcement authorities in the state parties through the effective and rapid exchange of information and investigations, with the aim of preventing, detecting, investigating, prosecuting the crimes covered by its provisions, and recovering the funds and assets obtained from it, in a way that enhances the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. The committee decided to approve the agreement for several reasons. Reasons, including that the ratification of the agreement confirms the Kingdom of Bahrain’s firm commitment to combating corruption as one of the main challenges facing societies and states, and supports its efforts to develop the national legislative system, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and applicable national laws, and consistent with the objectives of the Bahrain Vision. The committee indicated in its report that the agreement strengthens the frameworks for technical assistance, training and exchange of experiences between the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, in a way that contributes to raising the efficiency of the national agencies concerned with combating corruption, and developing their institutional and technical capabilities in this field. The committee stated that this agreement highlights the position of the Kingdom of Bahrain within the system of joint Islamic action, and is also consistent with the relevant international agreements that the Kingdom has previously joined, which reflects the Kingdom’s keenness to consolidate regional and international cooperation to combat corruption and promote the principles of transparency and integrity. Meanwhile, the Council is examining a report from the Public Utilities and Environment Committee regarding a draft law amending some provisions of the Real Estate Rental Law, which, according to what was stated in the memorandum of the Legislation and Legal Opinion Authority, includes enforcing what was stipulated in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain regarding ensuring the protection of property and regulating the relationship between landowners. Real estate and its tenants, achieving a balance in the rights and obligations between the landlord and the tenant, organizing the mechanism for obtaining these rights and how to perform the obligations, and reorganizing the legal extension in lease contracts whose term has expired and limiting it to one year, regardless of the duration of the contract whose term has expired. The desired goal is achieved by the existence of the general rules stipulated in the Civil and Commercial Procedures Law issued by Decree Law No. (12) 1971 AD. The draft law came with provisions similar to those contained in the Civil and Commercial Procedures Law promulgated by Decree Law No. (12) of 1971 AD in Chapter Nine (Procedures for Offer for Payment and Deposit). The committee considered that the existing rental relationship between the landlord and the tenant is governed by special provisions contained in the Real Estate Rental Law promulgated by Law No. (27) of 2014 AD, without the regulation delving into what the legislator left to enable the power of will between the contracting parties, so the matter was not left behind. Rather, it set limits on what is reserved by the law, giving the contractors the ability to activate the rule of “contract as servanda servanda” in the permissible part, which the committee adheres to as prevailing in regulating this issue by leaving the matter to what was agreed upon by the contractors regarding the terms and duration of renewing the contract, without the law going too far in tightening its authority over their will, and this is the closest to achieving balance in the rental relationship and respecting the will of both parties. The committee’s report indicated that the real estate rental law The enforcer has established provisions that enshrine protection for both parties to the contract without affecting their agreed will, indicating that the issue of the lessor’s refusal to receive the leased property “without reason” from the lessee after the end of the contract period is not considered a problem from a practical standpoint as long as the legal texts regulate this issue without a legislative vacuum in it. It also does not require the intervention of the legislator to set special rules for the offer to fulfill the delivery of the leased property in light of the presence of detailed governing legal rules in the Civil and Commercial Procedures Code, so there is no actual need for the draft law to replace it. Opinion in light of the stability of rental transactions according to the integrated legal fabric within the legislative system.
