Bahrain Mirror: The High Administrative Court rejected a lawsuit of a Bahraini who demanded the "Transportation Ministry" to renew his fishing boats licenses. The plaintiff had submitted a request to the ministry to renew his licenses, however, it rejected, claiming that the plaintiff submitted it late. The ministry said that it has the right to reject the renewal request if the delay exceeds two months from the license's expiry date. The plaintiff appealed the verdict, but it was in vain.

The court stated that the license -any license - is a final administrative decision under which the administrative authority discloses its binding will based on its powers under the laws and regulations with a view to achieve public interest. It said that it has a broad discretion in granting it [the license], and has the right to refuse the license request if it is deemed to be contrary to considerations of public security, public health, traffic or the beauty of city or neighborhood. This authority is not absolute, but is restricted by non-arbitrariness or deviation, and therefore the governing body, which exercises this authority is subjected to judicial control to ascertain whether these practices took place within the scope of its designated controls or not.

Arabic Version