The Legal Opinion & Research Directorate primarily handles the task of providing legal opinion, which for this purpose is divided into two divisions:
The Legal Opinion & Research Directorate primarily handles the task of providing legal opinion, which for this purpose is divided into two divisions:
1) Legal opinion:
This division provides legal opinion in legislative issues, as well as, other legal issues, which the Chairman of Shura Council or the Chairman of the Council of Representatives deems important to be referred to, as well as matters referred to it directly by the Cabinet, or from the ministries and public institutions and authorities after the approval of the Cabinet, which are related to the implementation of laws, decrees, regulations and executive decisions in force, in which the division provides legal opinion on a specific case in light of the legislations governing the case on which an opinion is sought.
The division is also responsible for interpreting laws promulgated by the Legislative Authority and Legislative Decree, upon request from the Prime Minister, the Chairman of the Shura Council, or the Chairman of the Council of Representatives. Whereby the division will define the legal principle to be interrupted and clarifies any ambiguity or uncertainty surrounding it, in preparation for its application to real-life cases falling under it.
Additionally, the division shall interpret disagreement over the interpretation of a constitutional provision, law, or decree with laws between the government represented by the Cabinet and the Shura and Representative Councils, or between the two councils, the interpretation issued by the LLOC is binding on the parties if it was issued at their request.
2) Research:
Considering the great importance of academic research in the legal field, this division is responsible for conducting legal research of contemporary and disputed legal issues.
The Legislation and Official Gazette Directorate is mainly responsible for all matters related to legislation, regardless of the legislation type, and their publication in the official gazette. For this purpose, the Directorate is divided into two divisions:
1) Legislation:
a- Proposal Laws:The legislation division is responsible for drafting proposal laws referred by the Shura Council and the Council of Representatives to the Government. The mission of the counselors and researchers in this division is to transform the proposal law into a draft law according to the principles of sound legal drafting. This includes regulating the provisions contained in its texts without digression or verbosity, in a sound legal language that avoids repetition or contradiction between its provisions, all without prejudice to the provisions of the proposal law. Considering the provisions of Article (92) of the Constitution, the proposal law is submitted after drafting to the Government within three months from the date of its referral to the LLOC, so that the Government can provide its observations on it and submit it as a draft law to the Council of Representatives within a period not exceeding six months from the date of its referral to the Government by either of the two councils.
b- Draft Laws: The division also handles the preparation and drafting draft law referred to it by the Cabinet or concerned ministries. The division amends the legal drafting to ensure it is in line with the Constitution. After drafting, the draft law is submitted to the Government along with the LLOC’s opinion and observations, which is done in preparation for its presentation to His Majesty the King for issuance of a decree referring it to the Council of Representatives.
c- Decrees, Regulations, and Ministerial Decisions : The legislation division reviews decrees, regulations, and ministerial decisions referred to it by ministries, public authorities and institutions and governmental bodies, ensuring their consistency with the law before the concerned authority issues them.
2) Official Gazette:
This division is responsible for the publication of all legislations – laws, decrees, decisions or other - to ensure that the public is aware of them. Publishing in the Official Gazette is considered proof of public knowledge, which cannot be disputed, in accordance with Article (122) of the Constitution. After verifying the legality of the legislation for publication, it is sent to the concerned body (Ministry of Information) for publication in the Official Gazette.
The Agreements, International Treaties & Contracts Directorate’s main role is to review agreements, international treaties and contracts. For this purpose, it is divided into two divisions:
1) Agreements and International Treaties:
This division is responsible for preparing and reviewing the drafts of international treaties and agreements that the Kingdom of Bahrain rectifies or accedes to, ensuring they do not contravene the Constitution, do not conflict with the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Bahrain, clarify the extent to which they align with the laws, decrees, and regulations in force, and provide the required legal procedures to ratify or accede to these international treaties and agreements.
Additionally, the division is responsible for collecting and maintaining international treaties and agreements in force in the Kingdom of Bahrain, as well as representing the Kingdom of Bahrain or participating in its representation in international and local conferences and forums related to the discussion of international treaties and agreements, if requested with doing so.
2) Contracts:
This division primarily provides legal opinion on contracts that are concluded by ministries, public institutions and authorities, and entities subject to the Law of Government Tenders, Bids, Procurement and Sales, is in relation to any legal issues that they may encounter, and the division provides legal observations in a memorandum sent to the concerned body.
Ministries, institutions, public bodies, and entities subject to the Law of Government Tenders, Bids, Procurement and Sales are required by law to seek legal opinion from the division for contracts valued at more than three hundred thousand dinars.
The Legal Coordination and Follow-up Directorate is generally responsible for legal coordinating, supervising, and following up between the relevant directorates of LLOC when exercising their competencies. The directorate carries out its assigned tasks by coordinating between the relevant directorate regarding the memoranda and legal instruments issued by LLOC, following up on the completion of the matters referred to it, in addition to supervising the implementation of LLOC’s strategic plan, preparing the annual operational plans and their results in coordination with the other directorates, as well as preparing the annual training plan for the LLOC’s members in coordination with the other directorates, and supervising the application of the policies and procedures stipulated in the Quality Manual by the relevant directorate of LLOC, proposing appropriate changes to the quality policy, Furthermore, the directorate addresses other topics that the President deems appropriate to refer to it.
The Election and Referendum Directorate was affiliated with the LLOC by virtue of Decree No. (91) of 2007, to ensure the management of this process through an independent body that adheres to the principles of integrity, impartiality, and legal foundations in this regard. The Election and Referendum Directorate is primarily responsible for developing strategies and work plans for the technical and technological preparation of every official election or referendum in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The directorate's tasks also include preparing the necessary studies and research to develop the electoral process in Bahrain, keeping pace with global developments and modern electoral systems.
LLOC has ensured the fulfillment of all international and legal requirements to guarantee the electoral process is conducted with complete transparency and ease, under the judicial supervision of the 'Higher Committee for the Supervision of Election and Referendum Integrity' chaired by His Excellency the Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs, and Waqf. For example, guidelines were prepared for voters and all those involved in the electoral process, and transparent ballot boxes and voting cabins meeting international standards were used. All procedures taken on election day and during the counting process were documented in certified minutes, in the presence of the candidates, their representatives, and observers from national civil society organizations. The tasks related to preparing voters lists and candidates lists, as well as the procedures taken on election day and during the counting process, were carried out through committees headed by a judicial or legal authority.
This directorate aims to strive for building a comprehensive administrative work based on an academic methodology, following principles and standards, and harmonizing administrative and financial work. It also aims to improve the financial performance level, supporting senior management in decision-making through optimal planning through programs that can enhance performance and elevate it.
1) Human Resources & IT:
This directorate is responsible for tasks related to planning, organizing, and managing human resources, analyzing and describing jobs, selecting and recruiting, evaluating employee performance, managing the promotion process, training and developing human resources, planning career paths, providing technical support and assistance to computer users, holding workshops and training on the use of the latest computer applications, and specifying and purchasing computer hardware according to the latest specifications.
2) Financial Resources & Administrative Services:
The Financial Resources and Administrative Services Directorate is responsible for conducting financial transactions and audits on LLOC's income and expenses, coordinating and preparing and following up on financial disbursements and income collection, preparing LLOC’s detailed annual budget according to the Standard Financial Manual, ensuring compliance with financial conditions for contracts, purchase orders, and payment through the Oracle financial information management system, preparing financial studies and analyses for matters that require it, specifically for budgets, and setting appropriate controls for internal control over financial documents and records through compliance with the Standard Financial Manual.
P.O. Box : 790
Manama - Kingdom of Bahrain
