Bahrain
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- constitutional monarchy
- CONSTITUTION
- February 14, 2002; amended in 2012, 2017
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- mixed legal system of Islamic law (sharia), English common law, Egyptian civil, criminal, and commercial codes; customary law; has not submitted a declaration of jurisdiction to the ICJ
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- bicameral legislature composed of the Consultative Council and the Council of Representatives (House of Deputies)
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Court of Cassation (composed of the president and 3 judges); Supreme Court of Appeal (composed of the president and 3 judges); Constitutional Court (composed of the president and 6 members); High Sharia Appeal Court (court sessions include the president and at least one judge); High civil appeal courts; intermediate and lower civil courts; High Sharia Appeal Court; High Sharia Court; Administrative Appeal Courts; military courts
RELIGIONS
Muslim 73.7%, Christian 9.3%, Jewish 0.1%, other 16.9% (estimate 2017)
From the country
- MAY 18, 2011BahrainDEATH PENALTY
BAHRAIN COURT ADJOURNS SHIITE DEATH SENTENCE APPEAL
a special security court in Bahrain postponed the appeal hearing of four Shiites sentenced to death for killing two policemen.
- MAY 15, 2011BahrainDEATH PENALTY
APPEAL HEARING DELAYED IN BAHRAIN
a Bahraini court temporarily delayed an appeals hearing for Ali Abdullah Hassan Al Singees, Qassim Hassan Mattar Ahmad, Saeed Abdul Jalil Saeed and Abdul Aziz Abdul Rida Ebrahim Hussain.
- MAY 5, 2011BahrainDEATH PENALTY
UN CRITICISES BAHRAIN'S DEATH SENTENCES, TRIAL OF DOCTORS
the UN high commissioner for human rights decried Bahrain's imposition of death sentences on anti- government protesters.
- MAY 2, 2011BahrainDEATH PENALTY
BAHRAIN: SET ASIDE MARTIAL LAW DEATH SENTENCES
Bahraini authorities should set aside a military court ruling on April 28, 2011...
- APRIL 28, 2011BahrainDEATH PENALTY
BAHRAIN: FOUR PROTESTERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
A Bahraini military court sentenced four men to death for killing two police officers during
- JANUARY 1, 2011BahrainDEATH PENALTY
The offences for which capital punishment either can or must be applied are
The offences for which capital punishment either can or must be applied are
- JULY 8, 2010BahrainDEATH PENALTY
BAHRAIN: BANGLADESHI NATIONAL EXECUTED
Jassim Abdulmanan, a Bangladeshi national sentenced to death in Bahrain for murder, was executed, The Gulf Daily News reported.
MARCH 23, 2010BahrainDEATH PENALTYBAHRAIN: DEATH SENTENCE FOR MURDER
male prostitute Russell Mezan, 26, from Bangladesh, was sentenced to death by the
- JANUARY 1, 2010BahrainDEATH PENALTY
The offences for which capital punishment either can or must be applied are
The offences for which capital punishment either can or must be applied are
- DECEMBER 9, 2009BahrainDEATH PENALTY
BAHRAIN: KING SHOULD HALT EXECUTION
Bahrain's king, Shaikh Hamad Bin Isa al-Khalifa, should halt plans to execute Bangladeshi Jassim Abdulmanan for killing a man in 2005, Human Rights Watch said.
- DECEMBER 3, 2009BahrainDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESHI MAN FACES RARE EXECUTION
Amnesty International appealed to the King of Bahrain to stop the execution of a Bangladeshi man.
- NOVEMBER 16, 2009BahrainDEATH PENALTY
BAHRAIN: MAN LOSES A THIRD APPEAL
Bahrain's Cassation Court upheld the death penalty against Bangladeshi national Jassim Abdulmanan