Syed Hussein Al -Qassab
The Shura Council discussed the report of the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee regarding a draft law to amend some provisions of Law No. 9 of 2016 on specifications and standards, accompanying Decree No. 2 of 2025 AD. The decision of the committee, Sadiq Al Rahma, stressed that the draft law aims to update the mechanism of spreading standard specifications and national technical regulations, criminalizing their circulation, selling or offering them for sale, or launching phrases, forms or symbols, which are understood that they are national standard specifications or national technical regulations in violation of the provisions of the law.
He pointed out that the amendments included in the draft law are in line with the requirements of development and flexibility in the work of the National Committee for Standardization and Metrology by expanding its mechanism of work, as well as reshaping the committee and providing more space for the competent authorities for diverse representation within it, and not limiting them to a specific number or specific parties related to specifications and standards, which may change by changing the need to include a greater number of sectors, which is consistent with the nature of commercial work And industrial in all fields.
The draft law included updating the mechanism of publishing standard specifications and technical regulations, and identifying the entity concerned with publishing, in addition to developing the mechanism of issuing technical regulations prepared by the specifications development committees, where the draft law canceled the condition of publishing what is approved by the national standard of national specifications, and the minister also canceled the condition of publishing national technical regulations prepared, modified or canceled after issuing them, while the mechanism of issuing and selling publications related to regulations and specifications has been updated Conformity and standards, and the process of publishing it through a website for the ministry for the purpose of selling it.
The Chairman of the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee, Khaled Al -Muscati, stressed that the proposed amendments to the Standards and Metrology Law represent a positive trend for the development of the laws in force, in order to enhance economic stability and protect the consumer, and stimulate the local business environment. He added that the reshaping of the committee concerned with specifications and standards will contribute to providing it with new expertise, especially from representatives of the private sector, which enhances the partnership with the national economic authorities, indicating that the amendments included the mechanism of updating and spreading specifications and criminalizing their circulation without accreditation, which will ensure the application of specifications issued by the concerned authority, and enhances the efficiency of the local market.
For his part, member d. Muhammad Ali is a number of inquiries, asking: The draft law is to delete the obligation to spread the specifications, so does this contradict the declared goal of modernization? How is the trading of specifications criminalized if available through electronic means and means of communication?
For his part, member Abdullah Al -Nuaimi stressed the importance of specifications and standards, saying: They are basic tools to enhance the quality of products and services, consumer protection and the environment, asking about “the difference between general and national specifications, and does these rules apply to imported products?
On the other hand, the first deputy head of the Shura Council, Jamal Fakhro, raised a question about canceling the role of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry in naming its members within the committee, indicating that the current text gives the Chamber the right to naming three members, while the new amendments canceled this role. He added: We hope that this amendment will not reflect a change in the Kingdom’s policy towards civil institutions, as it is the most capable of choosing who represents the economic sector, so why was this change? Are there notes on previous appointments?
The Council decided to take the final opinion by approving the draft law in an urgent manner in the same session, and sending it to the Speaker of the House of Representatives to refer him to His Highness the Prime Minister in preparation for his submission to the king of the country.
