Top of page

Article Bahrain: Constitutional Amendment Allows Military Trials of Civilians

(Mar. 22, 2017) On March 6, 2017, the Bahraini Parliament (Shura Council) approved an amendment to article 105(b) of the Bahraini Constitution of 2002.  (Bahrain: Constitution of February 14 in English (2002) (Constitution), ACE Electoral Knowledge Network website.)  Members of the Council approved the constitutional amendment two weeks after it was passed by the National Assembly, the lower chamber of the Parliament.  (Constitutional Amendment in Bahrain Permits Civilian to Be Tried Before Military Courts, BBC NEWS (Mar. 5, 2016) (in Arabic).)

The newly amended provision authorizes military courts to have jurisdiction over civilians charged with terrorism offenses.  Bahrain’s Constitution formerly limited the jurisdiction of military courts to offenses committed by security forces, stating “[t]he law regulates the military judiciary and shows its competencies with regard to the Bahrain Defense Force, the National Guard and the Public Security Forces.”  (Explanatory Note on the Draft Amendment to Clause (b) of Article 105 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain (first circulated Feb. 2, 2017) (English translation), Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain website.)

The explanatory note related to the approved amendment recommended the replacement of the text of article 105(b) with a new paragraph that extends the mandate of the military justice system to include certain crimes that are defined by law, including offenses committed against the security apparatus.  The explanatory note also calls also for a flexible and speedy military justice system to be established.  (Id.)

Reactions to the Provision

International human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch opposed the amendment.  In a report issued on February 23, 2017, Human Rights Watch stated “that trials of civilians before military tribunals violate the right to be tried by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal.”  (Bahrain: Proposed Military Trials of Civilians, Human Rights Watch website (Feb 23, 2017).)

Similarly, local activists such as Sayed Alwadaei, the director of advocacy at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, criticized the new amendment.  He called it a “defacto martial law.”  (Bahrain Parliament Approves Military Trials for Civilians, DAWN (Mar. 6, 2017).)

About this Item

Title

  • Bahrain: Constitutional Amendment Allows Military Trials of Civilians

Online Format

  • web page

Rights & Access

Publications of the Library of Congress are works of the United States Government as defined in the United States Code 17 U.S.C. §105 and therefore are not subject to copyright and are free to use and reuse.  The Library of Congress has no objection to the international use and reuse of Library U.S. Government works on loc.gov. These works are also available for worldwide use and reuse under CC0 1.0 Universal. 

More about Copyright and other Restrictions.

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Credit Line: Law Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Sadek, George. Bahrain: Constitutional Amendment Allows Military Trials of Civilians. 2017. Web Page. https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2017-03-22/bahrain-constitutional-amendment-allows-military-trials-of-civilians/.

APA citation style:

Sadek, G. (2017) Bahrain: Constitutional Amendment Allows Military Trials of Civilians. [Web Page] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2017-03-22/bahrain-constitutional-amendment-allows-military-trials-of-civilians/.

MLA citation style:

Sadek, George. Bahrain: Constitutional Amendment Allows Military Trials of Civilians. 2017. Web Page. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2017-03-22/bahrain-constitutional-amendment-allows-military-trials-of-civilians/>.