A member of the Shura Council is a representative of the people in attaining the public interest through the legislative, supervisory and financial roles assigned to him/her.

1. The legislative role of the member of the Shura Council is represented in:

• Proposing laws;
•  Approving or rejecting legislative decrees;
•  Discussing the draft laws submitted by the Government and applying changes thereto either by way of addition, deletion or amending the articles and then voting on them whether by approval or rejection;
• Approval, rejection or postponing the revision of draft laws;
• Ratification of international agreements that are entered into by the Kingdom of Bahrain.

    2. The regulatory role of the member of Shura Council is as follows:

• Submission of written questions to the ministers to obtain  clarifications about matters that fall within their  competence.
• To join  the House of Representatives in passing a resolution regarding to the effect that it is not possible to co-operate with the prime minister. 
  

     3.The financial role of the member of Shura Council is as follows is as  follows:

• Discussion of the public budget of the Kingdom and ratify the same. 
• Discussion and ratification  of the final accounts.
 

Parliamentary Immunity

The member of Shura Council enjoys two types of immunity: subjective immunity in connection with the opinions and ideas raised by the member at the Council while exercising his constitutional and legal role and procedural immunity that no criminal action will be taken against a member except after following the steps stated in the internal regulation of the Council, they are:

• During the round of the Council, other than flagrant delit, no action may be taken against a member including detention, investigation, inspection, imprisonment or any other criminal action without a prior consent from the Council.  However, during the non-round period of the Council, no such action maybe taken without the consent of the chairman of the Council.

• The Council must be notified about any actions taken during the period of its round and also must be notified during its first meeting about any action taken during the annual vacation of the Council against any member.

• The request for permission for removal of immunity from a member must be submitted to the chairman of the Council by the Minister of Justice. The request shall be attached with an official copy of the documents of the case in respect of which actions need to be taken. The chairman shall submit the said request to the Legislation and Legal Affairs Committee for revision and expressing their opinion.

• A member must not accept the removal of his immunity without the consent of the Council. The Council may permit a member, upon his request, to hear his statement if there were any accusations against him/her even prior to the submission of request for immunity removal. No other actions maybe taken against the member except after a resolution is passed by the Council permitting the same. 
 

• Neither the Legislative and Legal Affairs nor the Council have the right to whether or not evidences exist for conviction with regard to the criminal accusation issue. The investigation shall be limited to ensuring if the accusation is malicious and make sure whether it is intended to  hinder the member from carrying out his/her parliamentarian responsibilities at the Council.