On Wednesday morning, the seventh of December 2022, the Institute of Judicial and Legal Studies held a meeting of the Institute’s twenty-first Board of Trustees at the institute’s headquarters, chaired by His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa, Vice President of the Supreme Judicial Council and President of the Court of Cassation, and in the presence of His Excellency Dr. Ali bin Fadl Al Buainain, Deputy General, His Excellency Mr. Nawaf bin Muhammad Al-Maawda, Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments, Counselor Nawaf Abdullah Hamzah, Chairman of the Legislative and Legal Opinion Authority, Professor Dr. Jawaher bint Shaheen Al-Mudhahki, President of the University of Bahrain, His Excellency Judge Issa Sami Al-Mannai, Undersecretary of Justice and Islamic Affairs, and the lawyer, Professor Hassan Ahmed Budaiwi President of the Bahrain Bar Association, and Dr. Khaled Sri Siam, President of the Institute.
At the beginning of the meeting, the President of the Institute, Dr. Khaled Sari Siam, reviewed the agenda of the meeting, which includes following up the implementation of the decisions of the Board of Trustees, reviewing the annual report of the Institute's activity for the year 2022, and approving the training plan for the year 2023, in addition to following up on the implementation of the institutional and operational development projects of the Institute, foremost of which is expansion. In implementing contractual training programs with local and international partners.
The President of the Institute referred to the success of the Institute, during this year, in implementing 112 training programmes, with more than 2,000 training hours, benefiting 4,200 trainees from various parties, which included, for the first time, eight basic training programs for candidates for judicial work, for judges of commercial courts, and for those wishing to engage in business activities. The private outlet, criminal and legal mediation, and those in charge of implementing restorative justice systems, in addition to implementing the thirteenth edition of the new lawyers programs in a new look in cooperation and partnership with many parties, in a longer time frame and through multiple activities that address the reality of the lawyer’s work.
The President of the Institute touched on the implementation of the second version of the English-language Law Practitioners Program in cooperation and with direct financial and technical support from several major law firms operating in the Kingdom.
With regard to local and international cooperation relations, the members of the Board of Trustees commended the institute for its efforts and success in maintaining strong and close cooperation ties with various relevant national bodies and for continuing close cooperation with the University of Bahrain, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Institute directed towards regional expansion in subjects that the Kingdom of Bahrain has useful experiences.
They also praised the Institute's efforts in supporting the effective application of judicial innovations, as is the case with regard to the application of commercial and criminal mediation, the restorative justice laws, and alternative penalties and measures, and in the matter of raising awareness of the electronic services provided by the various judicial and judicial authorities in the Kingdom.
Finally, the Board of Trustees approved the proposed work plan for the calendar year 2023, which was prepared after communicating with the beneficiaries of the Institute's activity, taking into account the results of the opinion questionnaires and what was revealed in the evaluation reports of the various programs that were implemented during the past year.
At the end of the meeting, the Board of Trustees thanked the Institute's management and all its employees, and wished everyone a successful new year in which more success, progress and prosperity will be achieved to serve the justice system and the legal environment in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
For his part, His Excellency the Vice-President of the Supreme Judicial Council and President of the Court of Cassation appreciated the accumulation of the institute's training and organizational expertise and capabilities, which helped implement a large part of the program for training candidates for judicial work (the future judges program) with high efficiency and professionalism, and the institutional and human capacity of the institute to implement The ambitious program prepared by the Council regarding the requirements for training judges of all grades and specializations over the next four years, the implementation of which represents an important requirement for sustainable development, ensuring the quality of judgments, and achieving effective access.for justice.
His Excellency the Attorney General noted his appreciation for the success of the cooperation between the Institute, the Public Prosecution and the Postgraduate Institute of Criminal Sciences in Siracusa in implementing the international conference on means of enhancing international cooperation in the field of money laundering and terrorist financing, and stressed the need to expand this type of program.
His Excellency the Minister of Justice also pointed out the importance of existing cooperation initiatives with various national institutions, including the Ministry of Interior, the Special Investigation Unit, and the Ministry of Shura and Parliament Affairs, in order to prepare training programs to raise national competencies in various legal fields, especially those related to human rights work.
His Excellency affirmed the Ministry's keenness to encourage the expansion of the programs offered by the Institute to lawyers, whether they are basic or continuous training courses, and to support the Institute's direction in implementing contractual programs for various national institutions and agencies, pointing to the important role that the Institute is intended to play in the field of supporting initiatives Enhancing access to justice through awareness and training programs and by conducting applied research.
In the same context, His Excellency the President of the Legislative and Legal Opinion Authority expressed his appreciation for the Institute's expansion in providing regional training programs that succeeded in transferring the distinguished experiences of the Kingdom of Bahrain in many fields to local and international partners at a professional level.
Mr. Hassan Budaiwi, President of the Bahrain Bar Association, expressed his deep thanks for the Institute's efforts and the Ministry's support, and affirmed the association's readiness to continue to assist and provide various forms of support and care for lawyers' training programs to achieve the best possible level of training for young lawyers. He expressed his happiness with the planned cooperation between the Institute and the Bahrain Institute for Banking and Financial Studies in order to develop the training program for entrepreneurship by introducing a legal component that helps enhance the benefit of young lawyers.