Preserving Prestige: Shura members mull stripping National honours for serious offences

TDT | Manama     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

A person found guilty of felonies, misdemeanours, or equivalent crimes would be stripped of national honour, aligning with practices observed in other Gulf and Arab nations. A proposal to create such a law will come up for discussion this Sunday before the Shura Council members.

The draft law, put forth by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence, and National Security, chaired by Dr. Ali Mohamed Alromaihi, seeks to safeguard the prestige of medals awarded by the Kingdom by establishing clear conditions for their revocation.

Highlighting a gap in the current Decree on Medals, the proposed law aims to address the absence of provisions for revoking medals.

It underscores the importance of maintaining the value of these honours by outlining four distinct cases warranting the stripping of a medal: a guilty verdict for crimes impugning honour or trust, conduct contrary to loyalty to the Kingdom, breach of public office obligations, or actions diminishing the medal’s dignity.

The committee emphasised that many Gulf and Arab laws have already regulated the awarding and revocation of medals, serving as a precedent for Bahrain to follow suit.

By enacting this legislation, Bahrain aims to uphold the integrity of its honours, ensuring they are bestowed upon and retained by deserving individuals.