A COMPREHENSIVE legislation aimed at regulating the use of drones for sports and commercial, entertainment and scientific research purposes is on the way.
The government is currently drawing up the law and has urged MPs to revise an earlier version approved in January this year.
The original proposal was presented by five MPs, led by Parliament Speaker Fouzia Zainal, who believe the irresponsible use of drones could pose a threat to the country’s security, and public privacy.
Under the approved proposal, anyone found importing, manufacturing, assembling, using and possessing drones could be jailed between one and five years and fined no less than BD2,000, or both.
The punishments may double if the offence is repeated.
Using drones for a terrorist activity could result in jail term of no less than 10 years while fatalities could lead to a death penalty.
The government has given a detailed, written explanation to Parliament’s legislation which it was forced to draft as proper law, and has referred it back to the National Assembly.
Parliament foreign affairs, defence and national security committee is set to table the legislation next month when the chamber reopens after a lengthy recess, for the final term of the four-year period.
“We are currently working on a new comprehensive legislation for automatic and autonomous drones from a commercial perspective, besides the military and security aspect,” said the government in its explanation.
“The use of drones is increasing and diversifying with it becoming popular amongst children and adults.
“They are now being used for economic, financial, commercial, sports, scientific research and recreational purposes.
“Today, drones are not being used by just individuals as there are ministries, government authorities, public organisations and private companies that require them in their activities.”
The government added that Parliament’s proposal only focuses on individuals, while delegating legislative authority to the Interior Minister to take necessary action.
“Parliament’s law is flawed and limited as the minister is deputised to take necessary action to regulate the use of drones, without proper specifics.
“The minister should be given clear rules to set fees from ranges drawn up by MPs.
“The law also misses out on punishments for attacks on National Guards and the National Intelligence Agency, which are two vital military and security establishments as the Interior Ministry and the BDF.”
The government’s report also points out that Parliament’s legislation misses out on jamming or scrambling transmissions, while forgetting about the scope of licensing for those authorised to use drones.
“Drones should be used for legitimate purposes, and related machines and equipment should be authorised which is not mentioned in the law.
“We have live feeds or video footage going to other machines or are processed by unlicensed individuals and that has to be addressed too.”
Mr Al Dossary
Committee member Bader Al Dossary told the GDN that Parliament’s legislation should be pushed through until the government introduced its own version.
“We are in urgent need of regulating the use of drones and if Parliament’s legislation, even if incomplete, is what’s available then we will push ahead with it.
“The government usually takes months to prepare its own version of a draft law so whenever they are ready, we already would have some legislation in place.”
As part of Bahrain’s fight against the coronavirus (Covid-19), the police deployed drones equipped with loudspeakers to enforce social distancing measures across the country.
They were used in crowded areas alerting the public in different languages about precautionary and safety measures to limit the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, a drone was also used to take pictures of the country’s main prison and surrounding areas in the lead-up to an armed assault in 2017 that saw 10 high-profile inmates escape.
One policeman was killed during the jailbreak, while another was seriously injured.
mohammed@gdn.com.bh
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