Page 385 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (II)_Neat

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LAND REGISTRATION DEPARTMENT.
Total registrations of property during the year amounted to 765, covering 837 properties.
This was an increase of approximately 200 registrations compared to the previous year, mainly due
io the fact that about 250 land disputes, many of them pending for several years, were finally disposed
of by the Bahrain Court. The court now sets aside one day in the week for dealing with land disputes
and applications for the registration of titles. The fees which were collected amounted to Rs. 8.200.
The registrations included 487 houses, 259 gardens and pieces of land and 53 shops ; other registrations
were for enclosures, fish traps, and water rights, etc.
In the past the Bahrain Courts recognised claims by members of the public to government land
if the claimant could prove uninterrupted occupation for ten years or more. The interpretation of the
original proclamation on this subject was in dispute between the Land Department and the Bahrain
Court. The whole question of acquisition of land by occupation was examined by the senior Shaikhs
who made certain recommendations to His Highness the Ruler. It was decided that no claim for
ownership of government land would be accepted unless the occupation dated from the year 1336,
or before that date. A new proclamation was issued clarifying the position which applied to any
cases occurring after the date of the proclamation. It had been found that numbers of foreigners,
usually Hassawis and Persians, acquired valuable property in Manamah and Muharraq by bringing
witnesses to court who gave evidence that the applicants had occupied the ground by living on it in
huts for a period of ten years.
Land rents collected by the department amounted to Rs. 7,300. Over 300 small plots of
ground, mostly in Manamah, are leased for nominal sums to persons who have built " barastis " upon
them. This ground rent establishes the government’s ownership of the land.
A sum of Rs. 1,900 was obtained by the sale of small pieces of ground, most of them being
narrow lanes or blank alleys which were purchased by persons owning the adjacent property.
Renewals of fish trap licenses produced Rs. 1,300. Ten sites for fish traps were leased to
fishermen by the department. It has now been established that the shores around the islands are
the property of the State and the public cannot set up fish traps without obtaining permission from
the government.
Over 160 land cases are still pending in the Bahrain Courts. The new regulation about acquisi­
tion of property by occupation will probably result in a decrease of land registration cases leaving
mainly boundary and water rights disputes to be dealt with by the courts.
The cost of the census, which was carried out at the end of 1359, amounted to Rs. 3,126.

JUDICIAL.
The Bahrain Courts. There was an increase in the number of cases heard during the year
but a decrease in the number of important civil suits which resulted in less court fees being collected.
In the Bahrain Court 680 cases were heard of which 105 were criminal, 540 cases were disposed of
and 140 civil cases were pending at the end of the year.
The Small Court dealt with 1,397 cases 101 of them being criminal and at the end of the year
330 civil cases were still unsettled.
The total amount collected in court fees and fines was Rs. 6,460.
Several changes took place during the year among the magistrates presiding over the courts.
Shaikh Abdullah, son of His Highness Shaikh Hamad, retired from the Bahrain Court at his own wish
and was replaced by his younger brother, Shaikh Daij, who had previously sat on the Small Court.
His Highness’s youngest son, Shaikh Ahmed, was appointed as a magistrate on the Small Court. He
had no previous experience. Shaikh Daij was absent for some time from the court and during this
time Shaikh Abdullah was recalled but this was only a temporary measure. These frequent changes
were not beneficial to the work of the court.