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The Global Gender Equality Constitutional Database is a repository of gender equality related provisions in 194 constitutions from around the world. The Database was updated in partnership with the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) and with support from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and the Government of Japan. Experience its wealth and depth of information by starting your search now.
Religious Law
- EnglishIn the name of God on high, and with His Blessing, and with His help, we Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Sovereign of the Kingdom of Bahrain, in line with our determination, certainty, faith, and awareness of our national, pan-Arab and international Responsibilities; and in acknowledgment of our obligations to God, our obligations to the homeland and the citizens, and our commitment to fundamental principles and our responsibility to Mankind.
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This amendment has taken account of all the lofty values and the great human principles enshrined in the National Action Charter. These values and principles confirm that the people of Bahrain surge ahead in their triumphant march towards a bright future, God willing, a future in which the efforts of all parties and individuals unite, and the authorities in their new garb devote themselves to achieve the hopes and aspirations under his tolerant rule, declaring their adherence to Islam as a faith, a code of laws and a way of life, with their affiliation to the great Arab nation, and their association with the Gulf Cooperation Council now and in the future, and their striving for everything that will achieve justice, good and peace for the whole of Mankind.
The amendments to the Constitution proceed from the premise that the noble people of Bahrain believe that Islam brings salvation in this world and the next, and that Islam means neither inertness nor fanaticism but explicitly states that wisdom is the goal of the believer wherever he finds it he should take it, and that the Qur’an has been remiss in nothing.
In order to achieve this goal, it is essential that we listen and look to the whole of the human heritage in both East and West, adopting that which we consider to be beneficial and suitable and consistent with our religion, values and traditions and is appropriate to our circumstances, in the conviction that social and human systems are not inflexible tools and instruments which can be moved unchanged from place to place, but are messages conveyed to the mind, spirit and conscience of man and are influenced by his reactions and their circumstances of his society.
Thus these constitutional amendments are representative of the advanced cultural thought of our beloved nation. They base our political system on a constitutional monarchy founded on counsel [shura], which in Islam is the highest model for governance, and on the people’s participation in the exercise of power, which is the foundation of modern political thought.
... (Preamble) - Arabicباســم الله تعالــى، وعلى بركتــه، وبعــون مــن لدنه، نحن حمد بن عيسى آل خليفة، ملك مملكة البحرين، تصميما ويقينا وإيمانا وإدراكا لكل مسئولياتنا الوطنية والقومية والدولية، وعرفانا بحق الله، وبحق الوطن والمواطنين، وبحق المبدأ والمسؤولية الإنسانية.
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وقد استوعب هذا التعديل جميع القيم الرفيعة والمبادئ الإنسانية العظيمة التي تضمنها الميثاق، والتي تؤكد أن شعب البحرين ينطلق في مسيرته المظفرة إلى مستـقبل مشرق بإذن الله تعالى، مستـقبل تـتكاتـف فيه جهود جميع الجهات والأفراد، وتـتـفرغ فيه السلطات في ثوبها الجديد لتحقيق الآمال والطموحات في عهد ظلله العفو، معلنا تمسكه بالإسلام عقيدة وشريعة ومنهاجاً، في ظل انتمائه إلى الأمة العربية المجيدة، وارتباطه بمجلس التعاون لدول الخليج العربية ارتباطاً حاضراً ومصيرياً، وسعيه إلى كل ما يحقق العدل والخير والسلام لكل بني الإنسان.
ولقد انبثـقت تعديلات الدستور من أن شعب البحرين العريق مؤمن بأن الإسلام فيه صلاح الدنيا والآخرة، وأنه لا يعني الجمود ولا التعصب، وإنما يقرر في صراحة تامة أن الحكمة ضالة المؤمن أينما وجدها أخذها، وأن القرآن الكريم لم يفرط في شيء.
وتحقيقا لذلك كان من الضروري أن نمدّ السّمع والبصر إلى كل تراث الإنسانية شرقا وغرباً، لنقتطف منه ما نراه نافعا وصالحا ومتـفقا مع ديننا وقيمنا وتـقاليدنا وملائما لظروفنا، اقتناعاً بأن النظم الاجتماعية والإنسانية ليست أدوات أو آلات جامدة تـنتـقل دون تغيـير من مكان إلى آخر، وإنما هي خطاب إلى عقل الإنسان وروحه ووجدانه، تتأثر بانفعالاته وظروف مجتمعه.
وبذلك جاءت هذه التعديلات الدستورية ممثـلة للفكر الحضاري المتطور لوطننا الغالي، فأقامت نظامنا السياسي على المّلـكية الدستورية القائمة على الشورى التي هي المثـل الأعلى للحكم في الإسلام، وعلى اشتراك الشعب في ممارسة السلطة، وهو الذي يقوم عليه الفكر السياسي الحديث.
... (الديباجة)
Religious Law
- EnglishIn the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate … (Preamble)
- Arabicبسم الله الرحمن الرحيم .... (ديباجه)
Religious Law
- EnglishThe separation of Church and State shall be inviolable. (Art. II, Sec. 6)
- FilipinoHindi dapat labagin ang pagkakahiwalay ng Simbahan at ng Estado. (Art. II, Seksyon 6)
Religious Law
- English(1) There shall be a Cadi Appeals Panel which shall Panel 6 of 2001 consist of-
(a) a Chairperson; and
(b) not less than four other members.
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(4) The Chairperson and other members of the Panel shall be appointed by a Cadi Appeals Selection Committee which shall consist of-
(a) the Chief Justice;
(b) the Attorney General; and
(c) a member of the Supreme Islamic Council nominated by that Council.
(5) A person shall not be qualified for appointment to the Panel-
(a) as a Chairperson, unless the person-
(i) is a legal practitioner and has been so qualified for a period of not less than five years, and
(ii) is professionally qualified in the Sharia;
(b) as a member, unless the person is professionally qualified in the Sharia.
(6) The Panel shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine appeals from judgment of the Cadi Court and from the District Tribunals where Sharia law is involved.
… (Sec. 137A)
Religious Law
- English…
Buddhism is State’s religion. (Art. 43) - Khmer...
ព្រះពុទ្ធសាសនាជាសាសនារបស់រដ្ឋ។ (មាត្រា ៤៣)
Religious Law
- EnglishShura Council shall hold fast to the bond of Allah and adhere to the sources of Islamic legislation. … (Shura Council Law, Art. 2)
- Arabicيقوم مجلس الشورى على الاعتصام بحبل الله، والالتزام بمصادر التّشريع الإسلامي. ... (نظام مجلس الشّورى، المادّة 2)
Religious Law
- EnglishThere shall be no State religion. (Art. 8)
- SwahiliHakutakuwa na dini ya serikali. (Kifungu cha 8)
Religious Law
- EnglishWE, the Rulers of the Emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Um AI Quwain and Fujairah, …
Announce to Allah, the Supreme and Almighty, and to all the people our approval of the Constitution undersigned by us.
May Allah, the best Protector and Defender, grant us success. (Preamble) - Arabicنحن حكام امارات أبو ظبي ودبي والشارقة وعجمان وأم القيوين والفجيرة ، …
ومن أجل ذلك كله والى أن يتم اعداد الدستور الدائم للاتحاد نعلن أمام الخالق العلي القدير ، وأمام الناس أجمعين ، موافقتنا على هذا الدستور المذيل بتوقيعاتنا ليطبق أثناء الفترة الانتقالية المشار اليها فيه ،
والله ولي التوفيق ، وهو نعم المولى ونعم النصير .(الديباجة)
Religious Law
- English
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2. Our right as the people of Tuvalu both present and future, to a full, free and secure life, and to moral, spiritual, personal and material welfare, is affirmed as one given to us by God.
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6. Therefore, the life and the laws of Tuvalu should be based on respect for Christian principles, Tuvaluan values and culture, the Rule of Law and human dignity.
... (Principles of the Constitution)
Religious Law
- EnglishThe State affirms its neutrality concerning the different religions.
The secularism of the Republic is based on the principle of the separation of the affairs of the State and of the religious institutions and of their representatives.
The State and the religious institutions prohibit themselves from any infringement of their respective domains.
No Head of Institution nor any member of the Government may be part of the directing authority of a religious Institution, under penalty of being relieved by the High Constitutional Court or being removed, of office, from their mandate or their function. (Art. 2) - FrenchL’Etat affirme sa neutralité à l’égard des différentes religions.
La laïcité de la République repose sur le principe de la séparation des affaires de l’Etat et des institutions religieuses et de leurs représentants.
L’Etat et les institutions religieuses s’interdisent toute immixtion dans leurs domaines respectifs.
Aucun Chef d’Institution ni membre de Gouvernement ne peuvent faire partie des instances dirigeantes d’une Institution religieuse, sous peine d’être déchu par la Haute Cour Constitutionnelle ou d’être démis d’office de son mandat ou de sa fonction. (Art. 2)