American Bar Association is assisting in creating Shariah Courts – see http://www.abanet.org/rol/news/news_bahrain_sharia_court_workshop.shtm
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ABA ROLI Holds Groundbreaking Shari’a Court Workshop in Bahrain
October 9, 2007
From September 4 to 11, 2007, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative and Judicial and Legal Studies Institute (JLSI) of the Kingdom of Bahrain jointly organized a workshop on “Procedures Before Shari’a Courts.” 21 Bahraini judges represented all levels of the Shari’a Court—Appeals, High, and Summary Courts—participated in the workshop.
The workshop was the first of its kind in Bahrain focusing on capacity building for Shari’a court judges. It will be followed by a series of programs that will identify and address practical problems in civil, criminal, and Shari’a courts.
The workshop addressed a wide range of topics including the jurisdiction of Shari’a courts, standing and service procedures, and decision drafting. Local experts conducted the workshop with the goal of representing different courts of Bahrain; including the Supreme Court, Appeal Court, and Shari’a Court system.
Each instructor prepared comprehensive and practical materials including actual cases and judgments for group discussion. The lively and candid seminars revealed that among the most common judicial criticisms were those regarding the Judicial Inspection report.
Based on the findings of the workshop participants, the JLSI will undertake a number of initiatives, including creating and publishing training materials on the JLSI website, organizing a workshop for lawyers and other court administration staff to identify the main practical procedural problems in relation to the Shari’a judiciary, and presenting a report to the Ministry of Justice to study legislative suggestions relating to the procedures law before the Shari’a Courts.
For more information, contact Duncan Burrell, [email protected]
