The same Article stipulates that a Royal Decree shall be issued to determine the mechanism, procedures, and controls for selecting the members of the Council of Commissioners in order to enhance the transparency of consultations and appointments. Establishment of the NIHR, shall fulfill the following: 1. Not to belong to any political association, except for the members of the legislature who shall have the right to discussion without a vote; 2. Have a higher academic qualification and shall speak one of the official languages of the United Nations in addition to the Arabic language for full-time members; 4. Moreover, to implement the provisions of Paragraph (a) of Article No (5) of the establishing Law, stating that, “members of the Council of Commissioners shall be appointed by a Royal Decree for a period of four years, renewable for similar terms,” it specified that these appointments take place “after consultation with relevant bodies of civil society and other diverse organizations.” Paragraph (b) of the same Article stated that the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson are to be elected from among the full-time members. Paragraph (c) of Article No (3) of Decree-Law No. (20) of 2016 stipulates that, “A Royal decree shall be issued to determine the mechanisms, procedures, and the selection process of members of the Council of Commissioners;” consequently, Royal Decree No. (17) of 2017 was issued determining the controls governing the appointment of members of the Council of Commissioners at the National Institution for Human Rights7, which required that, “to ensure their independence, a member of NIHR’s Council of Commissioners, in addition to membership conditions stipulated in Article No (4) of Law No (26) of 2014 on the 3. For those appointed from civil society institutions and professional and trade union organizations, at least two years should have elapsed since becoming a member; 4. For those appointed from academia, they shall have, as a minimum, the rank of an assistant professor; 5. They shall have clear and concrete contributions in the area of human rights.” 5. Article 2 of Royal Decree No (17) of 2017 affirmed that the selection process of the members of the Council of Commissioners shall ensure representation of the wide spectrum of society without any discrimination based on gender, origin, religion, creed, or disability. In addition, it shall ensure that women, as well as minorities, are adequately represented. It also required that among the previous categories, an appropriate number of specialists in the legal and human rights fields as well as other fields that fall into NIHR’s 7 Royal Decree No. (17) of 2017 was issued establishing the controls governing the appointment of members of the Council of Commissioners at the National Institution for Human Rights. In Arabic https://www.nihr.org.bh/MediaHandler/GenericHandler/documents/download/RoyalDecree172017.pdf in English https://www.nihr.org.bh/en/MediaHandler/GenericHandler/documents/PDF/Royal%20Order%20No%20%20(17)%20of%202017%20English.pdf 13