حماية الملكية الخاصة في أحكام المحكمة الدستورية البحرينية على ضوء التشريعات المنظمة لهذه الحماية

Abstract EN

The right to private property is one of the sacred rights that are subject to extensive protection in terms of both Shari’a and law.

Notwithstanding the sanctity of this right and its inviolability as a public asset, this right may, at the same time, be violated by exception, if this would achieve higher goals.

One of the most prominent aspects of this violation is the right of expropriation (or eminent domain) for public interest.

However, even if eminent domain is apparently a violation of individual right, it is in essence a realization of public interest for the benefit of society as a whole.

Therefore, the recourse to eminent domain, as an exception, should be limited to exceptional situations and should not be regarded as the general rule.

Hence, the role of the constitutional court is essential as it should review the legislative authority on the one hand, and formulate accurate standards to achieve the needed balance between private and public interest on the other hand.

This research is therefore intended to answer the following two main questions: did the Bahraini constitutional court succeed in striking the intended balance between public and private interests? And what are the legal tools that were used to achieve this goal? We shall accordingly start by explaining the general rules of eminent domain along with the stipulated standards and conditions for its application.

We will then examine the role played by the constitutional court of Bahrain in protecting the right to private property.

This role will be studied through examination of the court’s judicial review to the former law of eminent domain that the court found to be unconstitutional