HJC president: 48,000 court cases filed

Bahrain courts dealt with a record 48,000 cases between September 2013 and last June (2014).High Judicial Council Chief and Court of Cassation President Salem bin Mohammed Al-Kawari hailed the statistics as a landmark achievement for Bahrain judiciary.
"All efforts are focused now on settling the cases dating back to 2010 and the previous years", he said, pointing out that all pending cases would be addressed early 2015 for efforts to be focused on cases dating back to 2011 onwards.
In a statement today, he stressed resolve to fast-track court procedures, stressing the royal directives issued by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa to ensure expedite judicial proceedings and protecting the litigants' rights.
Asked whether the court sentence stripping nine convicts of their Bahrain citizenship was tough enough, he said that the judge himself assessed the penalty applicable to the offence, pointing out that the High Judicial Council does not interfere in any court ruling.
The High Criminal Court stripped the nine Bahrainis of their citizenship after convicting them of forming and joining a terrorist group, and training and receiving training on use of weapons and explosives, collaborating with Iranian Revolutionary Guard and smuggle weapons in Bahrain.
Mr. Al-Kawari stressed the convicts' right to challenge the judicial verdict stripping them of their nationality to resort respectively to the Courts of Appeal and Cassation. Regarding the forthcoming legislative and municipal elections which will be held late this year, he said the polls would be monitored by the Legislation and Legal Opinion Commission.