Page 37 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (III)_Neat

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During the last two or three years there has been a rise in the value of property in Bahrain,
this was especially noticeable during 1361. Very high prices were paid for house and shop property I
in Manamah and for date gardens ; land values increased in Moharraq but not to the same extent as
in Manamah. In some cases values improved owing to the construction of new roads or widening of
old roads by the municipality. It appears that some of the local merchants who have made money
during the war invested it in land and the high price of dates has made purchase of date gardens a
more attractive investment than it used to be.
Claims for ownership of state land by virtue of long occupation are still frequent. The
proclamation issued by the government in 1360 clarified the position but in many cases it is difficult
for the courts to decide whether ownership should be granted as the witnesses are not called upon to
give thcirevidence on oath, this being contrary to shara practice, and much of the evidence is worthless.
Several claims by the Shia Wakf Department are outstanding as they too are unsubstantiated by
documentary or reliable evidence. Bahrain subjects owning only one house are forbidden to sell it to
foreigners ; it appears that some people in order to circumvent this rule sell their house to another
Bahrain subject who having thus become possessed of two houses is at liberty to sell one of them to a
foreigner.

Over three hundred parcels of land are leased out by the department from which Rs. 3,600 was
collected in rents. Sales of small pieces of government land, usually adjacent to the purchaser's
property, brought in Rs. 1,770.
The Land Department assisted the military authorities in arranging for leases or for compensa­
tion for sites occupied or used by troops in various parts of Bahrain and the Bahrain Government
afforded facilities for military camps and for the expansion of the aerodrome to the Royal Air Force
on Moharraq Island.

JUDICIAL.
The Bahrain Courts. During the year 572 cases were dealt with, of these 156 were criminal,
177 land cases and the remainder were civil suits. At the end of the year 126 cases were still pending.
An arrangement was made by which the court devoted certain days each week to hearing certain types
of cases and the two younger magistrates took turn to sit one day a week for hearing petitions for
registration of sales and titles of immoveable property. This has reduced the delay which used to
occur over registration of land.
Most of the criminal cases of importance were offences against food control regulations and
cases against persons attempting to smuggle food out of Bahrain. Severe punishments which included
confiscation of goods, fines and in some instances imprisonment were inflicted by the court in cases of
this types. There was a noticeable increase in juvenile crime consisting mainly of petty thieving by
small boys from villages around Manamah who were driven to stealing by hunger.
Bahrain Small Court. Over 1,500 cases were heard during the year and about two-thirds
of them were finally disposed of. Civil claims heard in this court are for amounts not exceeding
Rs. 400. Out of the 1,500 cases only 160 were criminal.
Shara Courts. There was a slight speeding up in the disposal of cases by the Sunni Court
which gave judgments in 156 cases out of 276. The need for a Sunni Appeal Qadi increases but no
suitable person has yet been found. None of the local Aalims are competent or acceptable. Only
47 cases were heard by the Shia Qadis of which 40 were settled and seven were pending at the end of the
year. Six cases were referred to the Shia Appeal Qadi who gave judgment in all of them. Since the
appointment of the Appeal Qadi, Shaikh Abdulhusain Alhilli, the constant intrigues and agitations
which used to centre around the Shia Qadis have ceased.

Majlis Tijara. This committee submitted reports on 62 cases which were referred to it by the
Bahrain Court.