on any matter that violates or directly impacts human rights and basic freedoms, while taking into
consideration the provisions of the Constitution, and the relevant regional and international instruments
and standards.
Section One
Advisory opinions submitted by the National Institution for
Human Rights to the Shura Council
The NIHR submitted to the Shura Council during the reporting period a total of five advisory
opinions(10), as follows:
First: Bill amending Article (56) of the Traffic Law promulgated by Law No. (23) of 2014
1. The NIHR expressed its advisory opinion on a proposed law amending Article (56) of the Traffic
Law promulgated by Law No. (23) of 2014, which consists of two articles, in addition to the
preamble. The first article of the proposed law adds a seventh paragraph to the provision of
Article (56) of the Traffic Law on exempting persons with disabilities from reconciliation fine for
the crime of not following the decisions of the Administration regarding parking in certain places,
if it is proven that there were no parking spaces designated, or no vacant spaces, for the persons
with disabilities at the time of committing the violation. The second article is an executive article.
2. The text of the seventh paragraph of Article (56) of the proposed law is as follows: “Persons
with disabilities are exempted from the reconciliation fine with regard to the crime of
not following the decisions of the Administration by parking in certain places stipulated
in Paragraph (12) of Article (47) of this Law, when it is proven that there are no parking
spaces designated for them or vacant at the time of issuing the violation ticket”.
3. The NIHR concluded that the proposed law, in its current form, does not fulfill the principle of
equality and non-discrimination, which is a basic pillar upon which international and regional
human rights instruments are based, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities, which the Kingdom of Bahrain has ratified pursuant to Law No. (22) of 2011, due
to the fact that is distinguishes in the exemption from the prescribed penalties between equal legal
centers. The NIHR was in the view that, if the text contained in the proposed law is applied in
its current form, it might be grounds for encouraging the violation of the Law, under the pretext
that there are no designated or vacant parking spaces for persons with disabilities. Parking in
places other than the designated ones might lead to the obstruction of public streets and traffic or
endangering the safe movement of vehicles or pedestrians.
(10) T he National Institution for Human Rights has submitted its advisory opinion on the rights of the elderly to enjoy an adequate and decent standard of living to the Ministry
of Housing, the Council of Representatives, and the Shura Council. To prevent repetition, the advisory opinion mentioned above can be found in the section on the
advisory opinions submitted by the NIHR to the government.
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