Hassan Al -Sitry
The House of Representatives passed a draft law amending some provisions of Law No. (18) of 2017 regarding the penalties and alternative measures accompanying Decree No. (96) for the year 2024, so that the application of penalties and alternative measures is expanded.
The project aims to develop the legislative system related to penalties and alternative measures, expand the application of penalties and alternative measures, keep pace with the continuous changes in the work authorities by adding new penalties, identifying one authority specialized in implementing everything related to alternative sanctions and measures, and determining the entities in which alternative penalties are implemented by a decision of the Minister of Interior.
For his part, MP Ahmed Al -Salloum said: “The alternative penal code is considered one of the advanced laws in the Kingdom, which Bahrain had the leadership in its application at the Gulf and Arab levels, since 2017, and it reflects a recent approach in justice, as it focuses on reform instead of punishment only, and it is an advanced model that reflects the development of Bahraini legislation in the field of human rights and legal reform, and accompanies the best international practices in the field of criminal justice.”
He added: “The draft law adds two new penalties in addition to the seven alternative penalties stipulated in the law in force, we currently have 7 penalties, namely: work in the service of society, house arrest in a specific place, the prohibition of going to a specific place or places, and the pledge not to be exposed or communicating with specific people or parties, submitting to electronic monitoring, attending rehabilitation and training programs, and reforming the harm that arises from The crime.
He continued: “The new legislation has transferred some powers from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Interior, the most prominent of which is the authority to identify the entities and the types of alternative works carried out by the convict with an alternative punishment, and the types of rehabilitation and training programs, indicating that the project reflects the government’s desire and insistence on continuous development and the continuous legislative amendments on the punitive legal system, in order to further expand alternative penalties, beneficial groups and develop programs Rehabilitation, to be more effective, and that the law be more flexible and accompanying developments.
As for the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs, Defense and National Security Committee, Hassan Bouhmas, he said: The draft law offered to the esteemed council to amend some provisions of the Penal Code and alternative measures to give this system of criminal justice systems more effectiveness and flexibility to achieve the goals they seek to quickly rehabilitate the subject of punishment or the alternative management of integration into society and not extracting it from its family and family surroundings and the consequent psychological effects of this And social.
He added: “The draft law dealt with the procedures for implementing the penalties and alternative measures by a decision of the minister concerned with justice, after coordination with the Minister of Interior, as the draft law offered a number of alternative penalties that may be imposed in addition to the penalties applied in the texts in force, which is the prohibition of entry to specific websites, and this is an important amendment at a time when the voices rise to the need to save societies from the destructive websites, and what Some sites are imminent on the society, due to the deviant ideas, behaviors and scenes in all respects, as well as the draft law added the permissibility of deposit in health and psychological institutions to receive treatment and psychological support, and there is no doubt that this alternative punishment is commensurate with some of the convicts who suffer from health and psychological problems, and also specialized clinics that are more appropriate to deal with some cases Addiction, as the bill was created as an alternative punishment to come to the security authority at specific times.
Representative Muhammad Janahi said: “The importance of alternative penalties lies in achieving reform and reintegration, as alternative penalties give an opportunity for violators to correct their mistakes and contribute to society instead of imprisonment, which reduces the loudspeakers to crime, in addition to strengthening the completed justice, by uniting a authority specialized in implementing alternative penalties, the application becomes more efficient and smooth, which prevents interference in powers, The implementation of the rulings is accelerated. “
