With the Participation of Experts in Local and International Law and Justice

With the
Participation of Experts in Local and International Law and Justice

UOB Studies the
Impact of the Corona Pandemic on Judicial Procedures

 Through the virtual communication
platform (Microsoft Teams), participants in the opening session of the
International Forum “Legal, Objective and Procedural Dimensions of the Corona
Pandemic (Covid-19)” stressed the importance of coming up with insights and
procedural notions for the problems and challenges imposed by the Covid-19
pandemic on the world, especially from the legal side, in view of this matter’s
importance in all sectors. In the first day’s sessions, the participants
discussed the most important measures and problems created by the Corona
pandemic, and the impact of the Corona pandemic on judicial procedures.

The President of the University
of Bahrain (UOB), Prof. Riyad Yousif Hamzah, opened the international forum
with a speech in which he emphasized the importance of the results of the Forum
in solving the problems produced by the global pandemic, and said: “We hope
that the Forum will present real-time visions for confrontation, and others for
precaution. As it wouldn’t be strange for everyone to wait for the insights
emerging from this scientific forum with their modernity and depth of
presentation that shall make us certain that its outputs will be a key to
resolving the legal problems that this pandemic has created, as it was
difficult to use traditional jurisprudence mechanisms to avoid them, highlighting
the strangeness of the event with the modernity of opinion.”

On the first day of the Forum, UOB
hosted the President of the Court of Cassation and Vice President of the
Supreme Judicial Council, Counselor Abdullah bin Hassan Al-Buainain, who talked
about the procedures and efforts made by the Kingdom of Bahrain to carry out
the work of the courts and achieve prompt justice in light of the Covid-19
pandemic.

In this context, he stated that
“The judicial sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain has not stopped or been
disrupted in light of the implications of the Corona pandemic, stressing that
the Supreme Judicial Council, in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice,
Islamic Affairs and Endowments, developed a precautionary plan based on the
balance between continuing the interests of litigants and preserving their
rights in the courts without stopping prompt justice and achieving it on the
one hand, and protecting the health and safety of judges, employees and clients
of lawyers, auditors and others, and ensuring the prevention of infection on
the other hand.

Stressing that ” all courts
issued more than 28 thousand judgments from February to July 2020.”

Also, UOB hosted the consultant
for infectious diseases at the Defence Force Hospital and member of the National
Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus, Lt.Col. Manaf Al-Qahtani, who
addressed the protection of the right to health.

As Dr. Al-Qahtani spoke from the
operation room of the National Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus
(Covid-19) at the Crown Prince Training and Medical Research Center at the Defence
Force Hospital, stating that “Since the first days of the pandemic, His Majesty
the King has issued directives to the Bahrain National Taskforce for Combating
the Coronavirus, to provide treatment and examinations for each human being on
the land of the Kingdom of Bahrain for free.”

Moreover, Manaf Al-Qahtani
explained that the importance of such directives is in protecting human rights
on the land of the Kingdom of Bahrain, regardless of races, religions, ethnicities,
and affiliations, and stressed that from a medical point of view, this
procedure is the most appropriate one to limit the spread of the epidemic,
pointing out that some countries didn’t follow this standard, and the epidemic widely
and quickly spread in them.

Furthermore, Al-Qahtani added
that “Also, His Majesty’s directives importance is in non-discrimination and having
respect for human rights, recalling the Kingdom of Bahrain’s move to embrace
foreign workers in light of the pandemic, which was widely welcomed and praised
by the World Health Organization, human rights organizations and several
countries, despite calls for their deportation from the country”.

Also, Al-Qahtani indicated that
the Kingdom of Bahrain team did not neglect the research aspect in light of the
pandemic, “As we have published more than 23 medical papers and made sure
to share the big data on the number of injured, deaths and tests with the world,”
adding that “We have conducted three clinical studies, including a
clinical research on the effects and effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine on
the people of Bahrain, which is a research that is being conducted for the
first time in the Kingdom of Bahrain.”. And he explained that the aim of
conducting such research is to know the effect of this vaccine on the citizens
and residents of the Kingdom of Bahrain in order to have feedback about the
usefulness of the vaccine, stating that “The research included the
experiences of 7755 citizens and residents, who were followed up on a daily
basis, and this experiment showed the importance of the vaccine and its
benefit.”

Also, Al-Qahtani confirmed that
“The Kingdom of Bahrain fought for human rights through preserving freedom
of movement and having safety, as the local community was calling for the implementation
of curfew, and we were betting that it would not be a strategic solution, as such
measure would have psychological and social consequences.” And he
continued saying “I have never given this information to the press and the
media, given its sensitivity, and I deemed it necessary to disclose it in this
international forum.”

For his part, Acting Dean of the College
of Law at UOB, Dr. Salah Mohammed Diab, said, in the context of his discussion
of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, “The legal sector has been affected by
the pandemic, and this was clearly shown by the system of rights and freedoms
and the arrangement of priorities in it, and on long-stable legal concepts such
as the concept of the pacta sunt servanda and the legal security it provided
for its parties, and the implementation of their obligations in the face of the
changes that occurred, but this concept in light of the Corona pandemic faced
fierce winds and storms that shook its foundations.”

Furthermore, Dr. Diab stressed
that “The idea of ??justice and the necessity of achieving economic
balance has become more worthy of care and attention, as the terms urgent
conditions and force majeure are frequently referred to in the legal horizons, both
of which are based on the idea of ??justice and economic balance at the expense
of contractual stability, and this had its legal effects on work contracts,
sales, services, and others. “

In the first session, Professor
of Public Law at the College of Law at UOB, Dr. Mohammed Abdul Naeem, spoke
about ” Legal Problems of Precautionary Administrative Measures Regarding
the Corona Pandemic.”. While both Dr. Ali Saud Al-Dhafiri and Dr. Saad Al-Anzi
from Kuwait International Law School (KILAW) in the State of Kuwait discussed
“Monitoring and Tracking Techniques Used in Fighting the Corona Virus and
Their Impact on Human Rights.”

Also, Assistant Professor of
Public Finance at the Kingdom University, Dr. Nadia Ismail Al-Jabali, reviewed
“The Implications of The Corona Pandemic on The General Budget of The Kingdom
of Bahrain and Ways to Confront It.”. While the Professor of Criminal Law
at KILAW, Dr. Muath Suleiman Al-Mulla, and Assistant Professor of International
Law, at Al-Ain University in the United Arab Emirates, Dr. Jamal Abdulqader
Barafi, spoke on “Health Emergency Measures to Limit the Spread of The New
Corona Epidemic on the Scale of Protection and Punishment: A Comparative
Analytical Study in the French And Kuwaiti Legislation.”

During the session, the President
of the Superior Commercial Court in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Dr. Riyadh Siyadi,
spoke about: “Bahraini Judicial Applications on Trade Contracts in Light of the
Corona Pandemic.”. Also, the Acting Head of the College and Head of the Prosecution
of Trafficking in Persons Office in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Chief Prosecutor Dr.
Ali Abbas Al-Shuwaikh, reviewed “Remote Interrogation of Defendants.”,
while Assistant Professor of Law at the College of Law at UOB Dr. Mohammed Waleed
Al-Masri discussed “The Impact of The Corona Pandemic on the Digital
Transformation of Sharia Courts.”

Sustainable Development Goals:

3 Good health and Well-Being

4 Quality Education

8 Decent work and economic growth

16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

17 Partnerships for The Goals

Key Words:

The Implications of The Corona
Pandemic on The General Budget of The Kingdom of Bahrain, the Impact of the Corona
Pandemic on the Digital Transformation of Courts, the Impact of the Corona Pandemic
on Civil and Commercial Litigation Procedures,