Review date: 9 October 2026. This matrix concerns verifiability of publicly accessed evidence, not the engineering sophistication of a country.
The comparison
| Country | Verified regulatory starting point | Public specialist technical basis | What remains to be confirmed before design |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finland | Rescue Act 379/2011, especially §§71, 74, 76 [FI01] | Decrees 408/2011, 506/2011 and 409/2011 [FI02, FI03, FI04] | Actual building duty, exceptions, applicable class and current consolidated text |
| Switzerland | Federal protection-place scheme and cantonal implementation [CH01] | BABS documents and established protective structures instructions [CH02, CH03] | Local shelter place deficit, specific instruction edition and project approval |
| Iraq | 1992 shelter construction statement; 2021 amendment Gazette record [IQ03] | National M.B.I.214 shelter code [IQ01, IQ02] | Current statutory building thresholds, exact code articles and municipal implementation |
| Kuwait | Ministerial measure 2816/2024 reported in legal index [KW01] | 2024 class details reported secondarily [KW02] | Official annex, class applicability, numerical schedules and transitional arrangements |
| Jordan | National building code legal framework and responsible authority [JO04, JO03] | 1993 Shelters Code officially listed [JO01, JO02] | Complete current technical book and binding application by building type |
| Saudi Arabia | Civil Defence Law articles 21 and 22 [SA01] | No universal numerical private-building annex verified | Council decisions, public/government/project category and competent authority |
| Qatar | Civil Defence Law 25/2015 article 25(5) [QA01] | No approved general numerical schedule authenticated | Actual Council approved conditions and project applicability |
| Bahrain | Civil Defence Decree Law 5/1990 with 2014 amendments [BH01, BH02] | No universal hardened-shelter numerical table authenticated | Permit condition, implementing decisions and technical acceptance criteria |
What the table should not imply
The same word, shelter, can describe different legal and technical subjects. In Finland the obligation can be linked to building floor area and class. In Switzerland shelter place sufficiency and nationally standardised facilities are central. In Iraq a specific national code exists alongside changing construction duties. In Jordan a specialist 1993 code is confirmed but its present applicability is not derived merely from its listing. Kuwait has a recent ministerial update but an unauthenticated full annex cannot support exact engineering numbers. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain provide legal powers and conditions that must be connected to the relevant subsequent decisions.
Do not rank countries by the number of PDF files freely accessible online. Transparency of an official document register is one characteristic of a regulatory system, not a measure of actual protective performance. Equally, do not rank a 100 kPa Finnish design load and a Swiss historical one-bar classification as equivalent systems without proving the same definition, duration, failure criterion and test regime. [FI02, CH03]
Three questions for every comparison
- Why must the space exist? Identify the statutory trigger, authority condition or voluntary owner brief.
- What must it resist and sustain? Locate the accepted protection level, operating conditions and applicable component standards, or record that they are unavailable to this review.
- How is compliance demonstrated over time? Identify drawings, device evidence, commissioning, periodic inspections, conversion readiness and the person responsible.
A credible research project may answer the first question but not yet the second. That is an important conclusion, and it is more informative than pretending an official schedule has been located.
Design consequence of evidence uncertainty
When applicable design values are unknown, retain a clearly marked preliminary space allowance and protected-boundary concept, but do not authorise irreversible openings or purchase compliance-critical equipment on guessed numbers. Track each uncertainty with a source owner, document sought, competent authority and decision deadline. Put the resolved requirement into the controlled design brief before structural and MEP drawings are frozen.
Sources and editorial qualification
The full authority links and type classifications appear in evidence/SOURCES.csv. The country-specific interpretation appears in chapters 03 to 08. Country studies explain the difference between legal text, official guidance, technical code and secondary news. This comparison is a research synthesis and not a construction compliance certificate.