8. On the other hand, the NIHR asserts that the nature of the communication or correspondence
requires that there be a caller, a callee, a sender, and a receiver. If one of them is accused, the other
one is not. Therefore, it is imperative to adhere to the judicial safeguard referred to in Article (127 bis)
of Decree-by-Law No. (46) of 2002 promulgating the Code of Criminal Procedure in order to ensure
the right of the innocent to confidentiality of his private communications and correspondence.
9. I n a related context, the right of the accused to enjoy the guarantees of a fair trial requires allowing
him to communicate and consult with his lawyer at any time freely and confidentially without
the possibility of hearing the conversation6. The provision of article No. (94) of the Decree-by-Law
No. (46) of 2002 promulgating the Code of Criminal Procedure assures the confidentiality of the
correspondence exchanged between the accused and the lawyer or the consulting expert. This
leaves no room for doubt that the above article is consistent with the principle of presumption of
innocence as well as considering the accused a person with maintained rights guaranteed in the
Constitution.
10. Accordingly, the NIHR believes that some paragraphs of the proposed amendment are inconsistent
with the requirements for the protection of human rights, and proposes to maintain the original
text of article No. (127 bis) of Decree-by-Law No. (46) of 2002 promulgating the Code of Criminal
Procedure for the mentioned reasons.
Fourth: NIHR views on the recommendation of a law amending some articles of Law
No. (23) of 2014 on Issuing the Law of Traffic
1. The NIHR referred its advisory opinion on the recommendation of a law amending some articles of
Law No. (23) of 2014 on issuing Traffic Law, which consists of two articles; the first article regarding
adding a new article number (3 bis) and a third paragraph to article No. (27) of law No. (23) of 2014
issuing Traffic Law, and a second executive article.
2. A
rticle No. 3 (bis) stipulated that: “A fee is imposed on each vehicle owned by an expatriate
for the use of state-owned public roads amounting to twice the prescribed fee for the issuance
of the vehicle registration certificate. The fee shall be paid annually together with the vehicle
registration fee”. The third paragraph of article (27) provides that: “In determining the fees
mentioned in the preceding paragraph, its value for the expatriate shall be twice that imposed
for the Bahraini citizen; the citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) shall have the same
treatment as Bahraini citizens.”
3. T
he NIHR indicated in presenting its opinion on the texts of articles No. (1), (2), and (5) of the
International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, where the first
paragraph of article (1) in Part I states that “In this Convention, the term “racial discrimination”
shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or
Eighteenth Principle of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under any Form of Detention or Imprisonment
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