The Government and Political System in Brunei Darussalam

Brunei Darussalam is one of the few countries left that still adopts an absolute monarchy system of government in the guise of a constitutional sultanate. Having an absolute monarchy system means that the all power is centrally coming from one figure, in this case, the Sultan.  

The Sultan of Brunei is the most powerful man because he is both the head of state and the head of government concurrently. He appoints and dismisses his ministers. The subjects of Brunei give reverence to their sultan at the highest level as they treat His Excellency’s words as edicts. No one can say no or question the words of the Sultan because it could become grounds for treason. The current sultan, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah keeps five councils and 9 Ministers to assist him in running the country.

The legislative branch of Brunei is currently on a consultancy basis after it was dissolved in 1962, the only election held in Brunei. In 2004, the Sultan has announced that 15 of the 20 seats will be up for grabs, but to date, no date has been earmarked for the said democratic exercise.

Brunei’s judicial system has been mainly copied from the English Common Law legal system. Currently, there are 10 Magistrates that hear out civil and criminal cases, higher than the Magistrate Courts are the Intermediate Courts. Brunei’s judicial system currently has 2 Intermediate Courts. Then, the highest court in the land is called the High Court, which is a council of two local Judges and one from Hongkong. Brunei also has a Court of Appeals, and the 3 Judges sitting in Brunei are all retired British Judges.

Like most court cases, a Magistrate or Judge doles out the verdict as opposed to a panel of jury. What’s unique about Brunei’s judicial system is that the High Courts try out all capital punishment cases instead of it being the final arbiter.

Brunei also has the Shariah Courts. The Shariah Courts deals with Muslim divorces and other matters that may be more of a religious matter rather than a constitutional one.

In terms of succession of power, Brunei is the only country that did not follow modern trends as the Sultanate can only be passed on to the Sultan’s next of kin. Other countries may have retained their royal families but Brunei has somehow managed to have mandate from its constituents.