Page 396 - Records of Bahrain (7) (i)_Neat

382 Records of Bahrain

CONFIDENTIAL
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Kuwuiti precedent; keeping iv»;> with the S:bi..hs in the spur. The
appointmont or Sayicl Wasf j. Ninr to a piece, nominally advisory,
on the bench of the D'irot Criminal Court, wan significant as he
\.v.n the first non-Khalifa Arab and. the flint trained Arab lawyer
to attain such a position in Bahrain; thin a ointment will,
Iliu Highness hopes, persuade Ills Dxocllo.icy to reco ••aond t««
Her Majesty's Government that conditions fo: .. trar.^.'or of
jurisdiction similar to th. t in . rogrens at Ku.r-.it now exist,
but David Humphreys, the Judicial Advisor, who :'ov the first half
of the y..;r, held the position now t.vion by dayid har.fi hii-.r, hen
been promoted to a similar seat on the Court of A peal ..here he
is the firot person to sit with legal trvining. He has also
t
boon busy with legal drafting, and in on excellent terms with

Shaikh Daij who lias helped him to obtain .vegulr.i audiences with
the Ruler, after the Political Agent had stressed to l*is High.— **'
the important role that Mr, Humphreys would hove to play in
preparing the Courts for a os:ible transfer of jurisdiction.
111 . O.W'.K. Smith's efforts to humiliate and mini ise
Mr. Humphreys have thus been checked.
5. Three British officials however left th... Government service
during the year: Mr. I.oes, the Director of public ‘.Voiles, Mr. Rai£
the Director o.( Customs, and. Mr. hilli:>s, the Administration
and "Personnel Officer of the Bahrain Government. With a bettor
Secretary than Mr. Smith the first t.o ..iglit well h.-.vc stayed on;
their departure is a groat loss to the Government end they have
not yet been adcoiu;fcelv i r-Anced. Mr. Phillips, ho- ever, weens
intent on suing for malicious libel the British manager of the

S tato JSlcctricity .bcpj-.rtuont.
o. While such bickering and recrimination is rife among the
expatriates of the Government administration, the tentacles of t
intrigue and corruption extend among the Arab officials, key
figures being Sayid Zecra of the Secretariat, who rules much of
Bahrain by means of informal tele lio.io call.., and Say id Mohammed
v/ho hs*3 succeeded Mr. Reid, in day to d^y charge of Custoir”
Sale
tlic letter has a criminal record, Moving been imprisoned in the
CONFIDENTIAL /Lebanon .................... ■