Dispute Resolution in Bahrain: Arbitration, the BICC Court and Foreign Judgments (2026)

A commercial contract with a Bahraini party can send a dispute to the ordinary Bahraini courts, to arbitration, or to the Bahrain International Commercial Court (BICC) when the parties agree to that. Bahrain's arbitration law is Law No. 9 of 2015, which brings the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, with the 2006 amendments, into Bahraini law. The BICC was created in 2024 by Decree-Law No. 9 of 2024. Court judgments from abroad are governed by the Execution Law, Decree-Law No. 22 of 2021, which repealed the enforcement chapter (Chapter 8) of the Civil and Commercial Procedure Law of 1971. This guide reads the Arabic text of these laws on the official legislation portal of Bahrain (the Legislation and Legal Opinion Commission, lloc.gov.bh) and the Official Gazette, and it takes the Model Law article numbers from the official UNCITRAL text. We assist clients with Bahraini disputes from our office in Kuwait, in cooperation with our partners in Bahrain. Related guides are linked at the end.

How the arbitration law is built

Law No. 9 of 2015 was issued on 5 July 2015 and published in Official Gazette no. 3217 on 9 July 2015. It has nine articles of issue and the annexed Model Law. It came into force one month after publication. The issuing articles matter more than they look, because they decide how the Model Law works in Bahrain.

• Article 1(1) applies the Model Law to any arbitration, whatever the legal relationship in dispute, if the arbitration takes place in Bahrain or abroad and the parties agree to submit it to the annexed law. Article 1(2) applies it to any arbitration that starts after the law takes effect, even if the arbitration agreement was signed before that date.
• Article 2 says the law applies to every arbitration whatever the nature of the legal relationship of the parties, and that the international origin of the Model Law is considered when its provisions are read in an international commercial arbitration.
• Article 3 gives the functions that Article 6 of the Model Law assigns to a court to the Greater Civil Court. This is the court that appoints arbitrators when the parties cannot, rules on challenges when the agreed procedure fails, supervises annulment and enforces awards.
• Article 4 chooses Option I of Article 7 of the Model Law for the definition and form of the arbitration agreement. Option I requires the agreement to be in writing.
• Article 5 puts the court fees for recognition, enforcement and annulment applications under the Judicial Fees Law.
• Article 6 lets non-Bahraini lawyers represent the parties in an international commercial arbitration held in Bahrain.
• Article 7 protects an arbitrator from liability for acts or omissions in carrying out the work, unless the act was in bad faith or caused by gross error. The arbitrator stays liable for withdrawing without a serious reason or at an unsuitable time.
• Article 8 repeals the arbitration chapter of the Civil and Commercial Procedure Law and the earlier International Commercial Arbitration Law, Decree-Law No. 9 of 1994.

A practical point follows from Article 1(1). The Model Law applies because the parties agreed to submit to it, so the arbitration clause should say that the arbitration is under Law No. 9 of 2015.

The arbitration agreement (Model Law Articles 7 and 8)

Under Option I, an arbitration agreement is an agreement to submit to arbitration all or certain disputes that have arisen or may arise in respect of a defined legal relationship, contractual or not. It can be a clause in a contract or a separate agreement, and it must be in writing (Model Law Article 7(1) and (2)). The writing requirement is met by a signed document, by an exchange of letters, telegrams or other means of communication that provide a record, and by an exchange of statements of claim and defense in which one party alleges an agreement and the other does not deny it. A reference in a contract to a document that contains an arbitration clause also counts, if the reference makes the clause part of the contract (Article 7(3) to (6)).

If a party sues in court on a matter covered by a valid arbitration agreement, the court must refer the parties to arbitration when the other party asks for it no later than its first statement on the substance. The court does not refer them if it finds the agreement null and void, inoperative or incapable of being performed (Model Law Article 8(1)). Arbitration can start or continue while that question is before the court (Article 8(2)). Asking a court for an interim measure before or during the arbitration does not break the arbitration agreement (Article 9).

The tribunal (Model Law Articles 10 to 15)

The parties can choose the number of arbitrators. If they do not, there are three (Article 10). The parties can agree the appointment procedure. If they do not, each party appoints one arbitrator and the two arbitrators appoint the third, and a missing appointment within thirty days is made by the Greater Civil Court at the request of a party. In a sole-arbitrator case, if the parties cannot agree, the court appoints (Article 11(3)). The court also steps in if an agreed procedure fails (Article 11(4)).

An arbitrator must disclose any circumstance that may raise doubts about impartiality or independence, and can be challenged only on those grounds or for missing qualifications the parties agreed on (Articles 12 and 13). If the parties agree no challenge procedure, the challenging party sends its reasons to the tribunal within fifteen days of learning of the tribunal's constitution or of the circumstance. If the challenge fails, the party can ask the Greater Civil Court to decide within thirty days of the notice of rejection, and that decision cannot be appealed (Article 13(2) and (3)). The mandate ends if an arbitrator cannot perform the work or fails to act without delay (Article 14).

Jurisdiction and interim measures (Model Law Articles 16 and 17)

The tribunal can rule on its own jurisdiction, including objections about the existence or validity of the arbitration agreement. An arbitration clause that forms part of a contract is treated as an agreement independent of the other terms, so the tribunal can decide that the contract is null without that decision making the clause invalid (Article 16(1)). A plea that the tribunal lacks jurisdiction must be raised no later than the statement of defense (Article 16(2)). If the tribunal rules on jurisdiction as a preliminary question, any party can ask the court to decide the matter within thirty days of the notice of the ruling (Article 16(3)).

Unless the parties agree otherwise, the tribunal can order interim measures, and Chapter IV A of the Model Law sets the conditions for them and for preliminary orders (Articles 17 to 17 J). An interim measure issued by a tribunal is binding and, unless the tribunal says otherwise, is enforced by the competent court on application, whichever state issued it (Article 17 H). That gives a party a route to urgent relief that does not depend on the courts of the seat alone.

Procedure, language, seat and evidence (Model Law Articles 18 to 27)

The tribunal must treat the parties equally and give each a full opportunity to present its case (Article 18). The parties can agree on the procedure, and failing that the tribunal conducts the arbitration as it considers appropriate (Article 19). The parties are free to choose the place of arbitration, and the tribunal decides it if they do not, with regard to the circumstances including the convenience of the parties (Article 20(1)). Unless the parties agree otherwise, the arbitral proceedings begin on the date the respondent receives the request to refer the dispute to arbitration (Article 21). The parties can choose the language of the proceedings, and the tribunal decides if they do not (Article 22). The claimant states the facts and the relief sought, and the respondent states its defense, in the period the parties agree or the tribunal sets (Article 23). Unless the parties agree that no oral hearing is held, the tribunal holds one if a party asks (Article 24). If a party fails to appear or to produce documents, the tribunal can continue and decide on the evidence before it (Article 25). The tribunal can appoint experts, and it can ask the court for help in taking evidence (Articles 26 and 27).

For a Bahrain-seated case the Arabic issues need a decision in the contract. Law No. 9 of 2015 does not make Arabic the language of the arbitration. The Model Law lets the parties choose, so name the language in the clause. The court can ask for an Arabic translation of an award that is not in Arabic when you apply to enforce it (Model Law Article 35(2)).

Governing law and amiable composition (Model Law Article 28)

The tribunal decides the dispute under the rules of law the parties choose as applicable to the substance. A choice of the law of a state is read as the substantive law of that state, not its conflict-of-laws rules, unless the parties say otherwise. If the parties choose nothing, the tribunal applies the law that its conflict-of-laws rules point to. The tribunal decides as amiable compositeur or ex aequo et bono only if the parties expressly authorize it. In all cases it decides in accordance with the terms of the contract and takes the usages of the trade into account (Article 28).

The award (Model Law Articles 29 to 33)

Where there is more than one arbitrator, the tribunal decides by a majority of its members, unless the parties agree otherwise (Article 29). If the parties settle, the tribunal can record the settlement as an award on agreed terms (Article 30). The award must be in writing and signed by the arbitrators, and the signatures of a majority are enough if the reason for any missing signature is stated. It must give reasons unless the parties agree that no reasons are given or it is an award on agreed terms. It must state its date and the place of arbitration, and it is treated as made at that place (Article 31). The proceedings end with the final award or with a tribunal order that ends them (Article 32).

Within thirty days of receiving the award, unless the parties agree another period, a party can ask the tribunal to correct computation, clerical or typographical errors. If the parties agree, a party can ask for an interpretation of a specific point. A party can also ask for an additional award on claims presented in the proceedings but not decided (Article 33). Put these periods in your diary at once, because the three-month annulment period can run from the date the request for correction is decided.

Challenging an award (Model Law Article 34)

The only recourse to a court against an award is an application to set it aside (Article 34(1)). The Greater Civil Court can set an award aside only on the grounds in Article 34(2). The applicant must prove one of these:

• a party to the arbitration agreement had some incapacity, or the agreement is not valid under the law the parties chose or, failing that, under Bahraini law;
• the applicant was not given proper notice of the appointment of an arbitrator or of the proceedings, or was otherwise unable to present its case;
• the award deals with a dispute outside the submission to arbitration (and only the part that goes beyond it is set aside if it can be separated);
• the tribunal's composition or the procedure did not follow the parties' agreement, unless that agreement conflicted with a mandatory provision of the law, or, failing agreement, did not follow the law.

The court can also set an award aside on its own finding that the subject matter cannot be settled by arbitration under Bahraini law, or that the award conflicts with the public policy of Bahrain (Article 34(2)(b)).

The application cannot be made after three months from the day the applicant received the award. If a request for correction, interpretation or an additional award was made, the three months run from the day that request was decided by the tribunal (Article 34(3)). The court can stay the annulment case for a period it sets, if a party asks, to let the tribunal resume the proceedings or take other action that removes the ground for annulment (Article 34(4)). The three-month period is short. Counting it from the correct date, with a record of the date of receipt, is the first task after an adverse award.

Recognition and enforcement of awards (Model Law Articles 35 and 36)

An award is recognized as binding, whichever country it was made in, and is enforced on a written application to the competent court, which in Bahrain is the Greater Civil Court under Article 3 of Law No. 9 of 2015 (Model Law Article 35(1)). The party applying supplies the original award or a copy, and the court can ask for a translation into Arabic if the award is not in Arabic (Article 35(2)).

The court can refuse recognition or enforcement only on the grounds in Article 36. At the request of the party resisting enforcement, and on its proof, the grounds are the same four as for annulment (incapacity or an invalid agreement, improper notice, an award outside the submission, an irregular tribunal or procedure), plus a fifth: the award has not yet become binding, or has been set aside or suspended by a court of the country where it was made or under whose law it was made (Article 36(1)(a)). The court can also refuse on its own finding that the subject matter cannot be arbitrated under Bahraini law, or that recognition would conflict with Bahrain's public policy (Article 36(1)(b)). If an annulment application is pending at the seat, the court can adjourn and can order security (Article 36(2)).

For awards made in another state, Bahrain is also a party to the New York Convention of 1958. It acceded under Decree-Law No. 4 of 1988, and the UNCITRAL status table shows the accession on 6 April 1988 and entry into force on 5 July 1988, with reservations whose scope includes that the Convention applies only to awards made in the territory of another contracting state, and only to differences that Bahraini law considers commercial. Check that the seat of a foreign award is a contracting state and that the dispute is commercial under Bahraini law before you plan on the Convention.

The Bahrain International Commercial Court (Decree-Law No. 9 of 2024)

Decree-Law No. 9 of 2024, issued on 27 August 2024 and in force the day after publication, created the Bahrain International Commercial Court as an independent body with its own legal personality under the supervision of the Minister of Justice (Article 3). Its aim is to make Bahrain a center for dispute resolution by the choice of the parties, using international best practice in cooperation with leading international commercial courts (Article 2).

The BICC decides two kinds of disputes if the parties agree it has jurisdiction, even where no Bahraini court would otherwise have it (Article 10(a)):

1. International commercial disputes. A dispute is international if the place of business of one party, or the place where an important part of the obligations is performed, or the place most closely connected to the subject matter, is outside Bahrain. It is commercial if it concerns relationships of a commercial nature, contractual or not, and the article lists supply of goods or services, distribution and agency, leasing, construction, consulting, engineering, licensing, investment, financing, banking, insurance, joint ventures, and carriage of goods or passengers.
2. Disputes about any matter relating to arbitration, including interim measures, appointment or challenge of arbitrators, and annulment or recognition of awards.

The choice of court must be in writing or by any other means of communication that makes the information accessible for later reference. If the agreement is part of a contract, it is treated as independent of the other terms, and it cannot be challenged only because the contract is void (Article 10(c)). The court also has jurisdiction if a claim is filed and the other party accepts jurisdiction expressly or by clear conduct (Article 10(b) and (d)).

The parties can agree the governing law of the dispute. If they do not, or if the chosen law conflicts with Bahraini public policy, the dispute panel applies the law its conflict-of-laws rules point to (Article 14). A judgment of the court is treated as a judgment of a competent Bahraini authority and carries provisional enforceability without security, and the dispute panel or the appeal panel can stay that enforceability if serious harm is feared and the grounds of appeal make reversal likely (Article 15).

Appeals follow Article 16 and Article 17. The parties can agree in writing that the judgment on the merits is final, in which case an appeal lies only for nullity of the judgment or of the procedure (Article 16(a)). The appeal panel's own judgment is final and cannot be challenged further (Article 16(d)). If the merits judgment is in English, the appeal goes to the competent judicial body of a contracting state under an international treaty on appeals between Bahrain and that state, unless the parties agreed that the appeal goes to the BICC appeal panel (Article 17(a)). The appeal panel then reissues the foreign body's decision as its own final judgment (Article 17(d)).

On representation, non-Bahraini lawyers can appear together with a Bahraini lawyer admitted before the Court of Cassation in cases heard in Arabic, and can appear without one in cases heard in another language (Article 18). The detailed rules on procedure, fees, language, mediation and evidence sit in the BICC regulation that the court board issues (Article 11), so read it with the law.

The Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution

Decree-Law No. 30 of 2009 created the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution (BCDR) as an independent chamber for economic, financial and investment disputes (Article 2). It hears two kinds of disputes that would otherwise go to the Bahraini courts, subject to a minimum claim value in the law: disputes involving financial institutions licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain, and international commercial disputes (Article 9). The same decree-law gives the definition of an international dispute that the BICC law later repeats. If you rely on the BCDR in a clause, check the current claim value threshold and the Chamber's rules first.

Foreign court judgments (Execution Law, Articles 16 to 18)

A foreign court judgment or order can be enforced in Bahrain only by a court order for enforcement. The Execution Law (Decree-Law No. 22 of 2021) repealed Chapter 8 of the 1971 Procedure Law, so the rule is Article 16 of the Execution Law. It allows enforcement on the same conditions that the law of the foreign country sets for enforcing Bahraini judgments and orders there. This is a reciprocity test, so Bahraini courts look at how the foreign state treats Bahraini judgments. The request goes to the Greater Court by the approved means, including electronic means, after paying the fee. The court orders enforcement only after it checks four things:

1. The Bahraini courts have no jurisdiction over the dispute, and the foreign court that issued the judgment had jurisdiction under the international jurisdiction rules of its own law.
2. The parties were summoned and properly represented.
3. The judgment is final under the law of the court that issued it.
4. The judgment does not conflict with an earlier judgment of the Bahraini courts and does not violate public order or morals in Bahrain.

Article 17 applies a similar route to official instruments made abroad, which can be enforced on the conditions the foreign law applies to Bahraini enforceable official instruments. The request goes to the enforcement judge, who checks that the instrument meets the requirements to be official and enforceable under the law of the country where it was made and that it does not violate Bahraini public order or morals. Article 18 says Articles 16 and 17 do not affect treaties that Bahrain has concluded or will conclude on the subject, so a treaty or bilateral arrangement with the other state can change the route. Check for one before you file.

Enforcement is supervised by the enforcement judge (Execution Law, Article 1). Foreign arbitral awards do not use Article 16. An award is enforced on an application to the registry of the Greater Court, with the award, the arbitration agreement and an Arabic translation if the award is in another language, and the President of the Greater Court issues the order after checking that nothing prevents enforcement (Execution Law, Article 3). Grievances about attachments, sale awards and distributions go to the enforcement judge within seven days (Article 37), and an appeal goes to the Greater Court within seven days, whose decision is final (Article 38).

Drafting checklist for a Bahrain dispute clause

1. Choose the route: Bahraini courts, arbitration, or the BICC. If you choose the BICC, say so in writing and name it by its full legal name.
2. For arbitration, name the institution or rules, the seat in Bahrain, the language and the number of arbitrators.
3. Say that the Greater Civil Court is the supervising and enforcing court, or accept it by default through Article 3 of Law No. 9 of 2015.
4. Choose the governing law of the contract and whether the tribunal may act as amiable compositeur. State whether the tribunal may order interim measures.
5. Add a confidentiality clause, because the law you rely on is the Model Law, which does not give confidentiality by default.
6. Agree on a period to correct or interpret the award if thirty days is not what you want.
7. If you choose the BICC, decide whether the merits judgment is final by agreement under Article 16, and how an English judgment can be appealed under Article 17.
8. Plan the three-month annulment period and prepare a certified Arabic translation of any award you may need to enforce.
9. For a foreign judgment, check reciprocity and any treaty before you rely on court enforcement, and prefer an arbitration clause where the counterparty has assets in several states.

Common mistakes

• Choosing the BICC without a written agreement, or by a clause that names only "the courts of Bahrain".
• Assuming Arabic is the language of the arbitration, or that it is not, instead of writing it down.
• Missing the thirty-day period to ask for corrections, or the three-month period to apply for annulment.
• Treating a foreign judgment as if it were an award. The judgment route needs reciprocity and a full court case in Bahrain.
• Forgetting that the New York Convention in Bahrain applies only to awards made in another contracting state and only to commercial disputes.
• Leaving the language of a BICC case and the right to appeal unclear.

Read also: Bahrain Agency Contracts Under Legislative Decree 10 of 1992 | Bahrain Market Entry: Company Forms and Foreign Ownership | Bahrain Corporate Compliance: VAT, Substance and Registry

Frequently asked questions

Which law governs arbitration in Bahrain?

Law No. 9 of 2015 promulgating the Arbitration Law, which applies the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration with the 2006 amendments.

Which court supports and supervises an arbitration in Bahrain?

The Greater Civil Court. Article 3 of Law No. 9 of 2015 gives it the functions that Article 6 of the Model Law assigns to the court.

How long do I have to challenge an award?

Three months from the day you received the award, or from the day the tribunal decided a request for correction, interpretation or an additional award (Model Law Article 34(3)).

Does Bahrain enforce foreign arbitral awards?

Yes. An award is recognized and enforced whichever country made it, subject to Articles 35 and 36 of the Model Law. Bahrain is also a party to the New York Convention, with reservations including reciprocity and commercial scope.

What is the BICC?

The Bahrain International Commercial Court, created by Decree-Law No. 9 of 2024. It hears international commercial disputes and arbitration matters when the parties agree in writing to its jurisdiction.

Are foreign judgments enforced in Bahrain?

They can be, through the Greater Court under Article 16 of the Execution Law, if the four conditions are met and the foreign state applies the same conditions to Bahraini judgments. A treaty can change the route (Article 18).

Can you run a Bahrain dispute from outside the country?

Yes. We manage the file from our office in Kuwait, in cooperation with our partners in Bahrain.