Page 346 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (III)_Neat

G2
JUDICIAL

The First Courts.—Until 1926 the only Courts in Bahrain, apart from the Agency Courts,
where cases concerning foreigners were heard, were the Shara (religious) Courts and the Majlis-al-Urfi.

The Shara Courts administered Islamic Law which was applied to both civil and criminal cases.
They dealt with marriage, divorce and inheritance, and they administered estates on behalf of minors
and controlled Wakf property. As the administration of the State developed many of the offices
of the Shara were placed under other controls, separate departments took over the administration of
Wakf properties and the estates of minors, and the Shara Courts were restricted to the hearing of
certain types of disputes.
The Shara Courts Consisted !of a Sunni and a Shia Qadi who officiated independently, and
judged cases which were sent to them by the Shaikh, hearing them in their own houses, without clerks
or offices or much in the way of records and without any remuneration from the State. When con-
ditions in Bahrain were simpler than they are today these methods of jurisdiction worked satisfactorily.
For over 40 years the Sunni Qadi was Shaikh Jasim-al-Mehza, he lived to a great age and was blind
during the latter part of his life. Shaikh Jasim was an outstanding man of strong personality, a
wise judge, well-versed in la\v. Since his death Bahrain has not produced a Qadi from among its
own people who could approach Shaikh Jasim in knowledge of Islamic Law. The Shia Qadi, Shaikh
Khalaf-al-Osfoor, was an old man of impressive manner and appearance. At the heyday of his fame
he was venerated almost as a divine being by the village Shias, though he had twice been dismissed
from his post, and reinstated', by Shaikh Isa. In 1926 however he was charged with accepting bribes
and misappropriating monies which were in his custody and after a lengthy trial numerous charges
were proved against him afid he was dismissed and banished to Iraq. He settled at Najaf where he
eventually died.

These Qadis of the old school were bigger men than any of those who followed them, they had
great influence and apart from their duties as judges they took an extremely active part in local politics,
on the whole with beneficial results. Both Shaikh Jasim and Shaikh Khalaf gave valuable support
to various reforms which were instituted soon after Shaikh Hamad became ruler. Both the Qadis
were rich men and the fact that they took no pay from the Government increased their importance
as political factors. The Qadis of today have little influence over the people, this is due to the general
decline in the observance of religious customs, the restricted authority of the Shara courts and to the
lack of forcible characters among the Qadis who now number seven in place of two.

The Majlis-al-Urfi sometimes known as the Salafieh Court was an institution of ancient origin
originally set up for the purpose of settling disputes about diving matters which the Qadis would not
deal with because they disapproved of a system which was based on the lending of money at interest.
The members of the Majlis were appointed by the Shaikh but as all of them were pearl merchants
and Nakhudas the ordinary diver had small chance of obtaining a fair trial if he complained against
his Nakhuda. This court was useful in settling cases between brokers, nakhudas and pearl merchants,
according to the complicated unwritten code which governs the diving industry. From the Majlis-
al-Urfi there eventually emerged the Majlis Tajara which functions now as an advisory committee,
composed of a number of merchants who make reports on cases, which are sent to them by other
courts, dealing with questions of local customs, commercial procedure and diving disputes.
Institution of Bahrain Courts.—The first regular court to be instituted was the Joint Court
presided over by the Ruler and the Political Agent for hearing cases brought by foreigners against
Bahrain subjects. In 1928 a Junior Joint Court was started for the hearing of less important cases.
The first State court was opened in 1344 (1925-1926), it consisted of the Adviser and a Shaikh
of the Ruling Family, the first to hold this post was Shaikh Mohamed bin Rashid, who retired after
about a year owing to family quarrels. He was succeeded by Shaikh Sulman bin Hamad, the present
ruler, who was on the court for about eight years. When he retired his brother, Shaikh Abdulla bin
; Hamad, and Shaikh Rashid bin Mohamed, a senior member of the family, were appointed as

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