Bahrain · Constitution
Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain
Promulgated in 2002 following the National Action Charter, converting the emirate into a kingdom. It establishes hereditary rule in the Al Khalifa family and a bicameral National Assembly: an elected Council of Representatives of forty members and an appointed Consultative Council of forty. Because the appointed chamber is equal in size and its Speaker casts the deciding vote in a joint sitting, the elected chamber cannot legislate over the appointed one — the central structural criticism of the 2002 settlement. The constitution guarantees equality, personal liberty, property and freedom of belief, and declares Sharia a principal source of legislation.
The constitutional text
Promulgated in 2002 following the National Action Charter, converting the emirate into a kingdom. It establishes hereditary rule in the Al Khalifa family and a bicameral National Assembly: an elected Council of Representatives of forty members and an appointed Consultative Council of forty. Because the appointed chamber is equal in size and its Speaker casts the deciding vote in a joint sitting, the elected chamber cannot legislate over the appointed one — the central structural criticism of the 2002 settlement. The constitution guarantees equality, personal liberty, property and freedom of belief, and declares Sharia a principal source of legislation.
Separation of powers
Unitary. Four governorates administered centrally; elected municipal councils were abolished as a tier in 2014 and their functions transferred to the governorates.
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