HE number of court hearings have been reduced as part of measures taken by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) to curb the spread of the coronavirus, writes Noor Zahra.
Further rules for court sessions at the Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Ministry were announced yesterday.
The move is aimed at restricting large gatherings to ensure the safety of people present in the court premises.
The council announced that from Sunday the number of hearings and cases heard by each court will be reduced.
“As part of precautionary measures taken to combat the Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) and to ensure the safety of everyone, Cassation Court president and Supreme Judicial Council vice-chairman Chancellor (Abdulla Hassan Al Buainain) announced that the number of court hearings will be reduced in addition to the reduction of court cases viewed in each hearings,” read a SJC statement.
“Court cases will also be adjourned according to rules.
“The new rules have been taken after consultation with the Bahrain Bar Society.
“Lawyers can also benefit from using the e-services.”
The courts that will have only three hearings every week are the rental dispute committee, the High Criminal Court, the Lower Criminal Court, civil courts, commercial courts, the Administrative Court, Sharia Court and labour courts.
This also includes all appeals courts.
Civil courts, administrative courts, commercial courts, labour courts and the Sharia Court will view a maximum of 15 cases while criminal courts and the rental dispute committee will view only 25 cases.
Cases in all courts, apart from criminal courts, will be adjourned for a minimum period of two weeks or a maximum period of a month and a half.
The adjournment of criminal cases could not be less than a minimum of two weeks or more than a maximum of two months.
Meanwhile, Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa conducted an inspection visit at the courts complex.
“The inspection is part of efforts to ensure that the new rules are being implemented to help combat coronavirus,” an official told the GDN.
The GDN reported last Thursday that only eight people can be inside a courtroom at any given time during a court session.
