The Shura Council is set to debate a tougher law on penalties for unlicensed nurseries, aiming to close gaps in existing rules that do not clearly distinguish between those with and without necessary paperwork. The amendment, put forward by several members including Dr. Fatima Al Kooheji, seeks to ensure penalties are enforced fairly and in line with constitutional principles after consultation with legal advisers.
The current Child Law punishes anyone who sets up, runs, moves, or alters a nursery without making a distinction between those with the right paperwork and those without. The proposed amendment clarifies that penalties only apply to those operating without a license or failing to secure ministerial approval for changes, closing a grey area in the law and providing certainty on when a nursery may be ordered to shut down.
The amendment also aims to ensure that laws imposing penalties are written in plain and exact terms to prevent confusion, as past rulings from Bahrain’s Constitutional Court have emphasized the importance of legal soundness and clarity in limiting personal freedoms. The proposed changes in wording throughout the law, such as replacing “the disabled” with “persons with disabilities,” aim to provide more precise and clear guidelines for enforcement.
