Bahrain: Two-Year Jail Term Upheld for Issuing Cheque Without Sufficient Funds
Bahrain’s Cassation Court has affirmed a two-year prison sentence for a defendant who issued a cheque without sufficient funds, setting a landmark legal precedent.
The court’s decision came in response to an appeal filed by an individual who had been sentenced to two years of imprisonment for issuing a cheque without sufficient funds.
The defendant appealed to the court, arguing that the procedures leading to the verdict were invalid due to a lack of formal notification of the lawsuit and the issuance of the judgement.
The court affirmed that the notification received by the appellant contained all the legally required information.
The court cited Article 164 of the Criminal Procedure Law, which stipulates that the public prosecution must initiate criminal proceedings by summoning the accused to appear before the lower criminal court.
The court clarified that Article 411 of Law No. 7 of 2020 amended the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law and authorized the use of electronic means in conducting and documenting all stages of the proceedings, including the issuance of orders, decisions, judgments, signatures, announcements, confessions, documents, and submitted papers.
The court concluded that the trial proceedings and the judgement of the court of first instance were conducted in accordance with the law and Article 201 of the Criminal Procedure Law, confirming the verdict as valid and free from any nullity defects.
