Justice Ministry launches online service

Manama, Nov.11 (BNA): A new online service has today been launched to get updated on travel bans and pay dues. The Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments launched the new service in cooperation with the Informatics and Electronic Government Authority. The initiative was also coordinated with the General Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Resident Affairs and the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications. The new cyber service follows the directives of the Executive Committee, chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier. Citizens and expatriates can access the national portal (Bahrain.bh) to get informed about their legal status and regulate their situation before undertaking their travel procedures. "The new service enables citizens and residents to ensure they are not banned from travelling by court order from July 2008", said Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al-Khalifa. "The new measure will spare citizens and residents any losses incurred due court ban after finalizing all travel procedures", he added, pointing out that it would not be necessary from now on to report to the ministry to pay the dues and regulate legal situation. He stressed the importance of the new streamlined procedure as it would enable traders and investors to ensure that they do not face any financial claims. Traders and Investors will also be able to settle any financial claims online without seeking a court order lifting the travel ban, which would streamline procedures and reduce procedural costs. In a press statement, the ministry said that a text message (SMS) would be sent to the user of the service to confirm the lifting of the travel ban immediately after paying the pending dues. The ministry said that it has coordinated with the General Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Resident Affairs to ensure the immediate processing of all the applications to lift the travel ban. It has coordinated with relevant authorities to ensure the completion of all procedures at Bahrain International Airport for the court travel ban to be lifted in case the person does not know in advance of the ban – providing there is enough time before the plane takes off. The ministry urged users to to input their data through the Standard eKey Registration to ensure their personal privacy. Mohammed Al-Qaid commended the new online initiative which, he said, reflects Bahrain’s landmark technological strides, pointing out that the complex procedure interconnects four government parties and requires the cooperation between seven other authorities to finalise the service in record time. "The stride reflects the electronic maturity reached by government departments", he said, stressing the importance of the step which streamlined the service, reduced the procedural steps, slashed spending and eased the pressure on employees, in line with the directives of the wise leadership.