Manama – Acting Head of the National Center for Human Rights (NCHR), Dr. Reem Abu Dalbouh, participated as a keynote speaker in the international conference entitled “Alternative Penalties and Measures Law: A Pioneering Experience in Criminal Legislation,” recently organized by the National Institution for Human Rights in the Kingdom of Bahrain, with significant international and Arab participation.
During the conference, the National Center for Human Rights was honored by Bahrain’s National Institution for Human Rights in recognition of its contributions.
In her address, Abu Dalbouh stated that Jordan officially began implementing an alternative sentencing approach in 2017 as a substitute for custodial sentences, in response to the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah II. These directives were reflected in the Royal Discussion Papers, which emphasized the importance of developing the justice sector.
She explained that the legislative amendments and recommendations also stemmed from the outcomes of the Royal Committee for Developing the Judiciary and Enhancing the Rule of Law, which aimed to advance the criminal justice system.
These efforts resulted in amendments to the Jordanian Penal Code, introducing the approach of alternative penalties, alongside the issuance of regulations and implementation mechanisms governing alternatives to custodial sentences.
Abu Dalbouh added that further amendments to the Penal Code were introduced in 2022 concerning alternative penalties and their implementation. She noted that 2022 witnessed an expansion in the application of alternative sentences, building on progress achieved in previous years.
Abu Dalbouh further highlighted the efforts of the National Center for Human Rights in proposing amendments to a range of legislative provisions that directly affect individuals’ right to a fair trial. These proposed legislative amendments and recommendations have been included in the Center’s annual reports on the state of human rights.
She explained that the Center provides recommendations aimed at safeguarding individuals’ right to a fair trial through its membership in the Technical Committee for Harmonizing National Legislation with International Human Rights Conventions, established pursuant to a decision by the Prime Minister.
The Center also participated in a specialized committee at the Ministry of Justice tasked with amending the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure.
In this context, the Center has submitted several recommendations, including amending Article 54 bis of the Penal Code to ease existing restrictions on judicial discretion in imposing alternative penalties.
The proposed amendment seeks to broaden the scope of alternative sentencing to include all misdemeanors and eliminate the requirement linking the application of alternative penalties to the suspension of sentence execution.
It is worth noting that the two-day conference addressed efforts undertaken by ministries and official institutions to implement the Alternative Penalties and Measures Law, highlighting achievements and examining the roles of national human rights institutions and Arab and international non-governmental organizations.
The conference also presented countries’ experiences with alternative sentencing legislation, the challenges facing authorities responsible for supervising and implementing alternative penalties and measures, and the practical difficulties encountered by individuals benefiting from the law’s provisions.
Additionally, the conference reviewed the experiences of civil society organizations concerning the law and the challenges associated with its implementation.
More than 300 participants attended the conference, representing various governmental and non-governmental institutions in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Participants also included the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bahrain, representatives of the Regional Office of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Arab Observatory for Human Rights, the Arab Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ANNHRI), and representatives of several national human rights institutions serving on the Bureau of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI).
