BAHRAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Noor Al Rayes, Bradley Price, Mohamed Al Sari and Raghad Al Matrook, Al Tamimi & Company
implementation of merger control procedures and the ongoing activities of the Competition Authority. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce has also expand - ed guidance and administrative services relating to competition compliance and enforcement. However, there have been no major legislative amend - ments fundamentally altering the framework for private antitrust litigation, nor have there been any reported landmark court decisions establishing significant precedent for private competition damages claims. 2. Private Antitrust Claims: Basis and Procedure 2.1 Statutory Basis Statutory Basis Private antitrust claims in Bahrain are based on the general principles of civil liability under the Civil Code, as expressly incorporated by Article (52)(1) of the Competition Law, together with the substantive prohibitions as set out in 1.1 Current Framework for Private Antitrust Litigation . There is no separate statutory regime for private anti - trust enforcement. Instead, claimants bring civil dam - ages claims under Bahrain’s general tort principles for losses arising from infringements of the Competition Law. Under Article (52)(2), private damages claims for these core infringements are only admissible once the Com - petition Authority, the Appeal Tribunal or the Court of Cassation has established the infringement, or where the Authority has failed to respond to a complaint or appeal within one year. Accordingly, Bahrain operates predominantly as a follow-on private enforcement regime rather than permitting fully stand-alone claims. Types of Claims The principal private remedy is a claim for damages, requiring the claimant to establish actual loss, cau - sation and the amount of recoverable damages. In appropriate cases, claimants may also seek interim or injunctive relief from the civil courts to restrain ongoing anti-competitive conduct pending the resolution of the substantive claim.
As the civil courts are bound by the Competi - tion Authority’s (or appellate body’s) finding that an infringement has occurred under Article (52)(2), private proceedings typically focus on proving loss, causation and quantum of damages, rather than re-litigating the underlying competition law infringement. 2.2 Courts Bahrain does not operate a specialised competition court or tribunal for private antitrust disputes. Civil damages claims arising from anti-competitive conduct are brought before the ordinary civil courts in accord - ance with the general rules of jurisdiction under Bah - rain’s Civil and Commercial Procedures Law, based principally on the value of the claim and the domicile of the defendant. At first instance, private damages claims are typically heard by the High Civil Court, with a right of appeal to the Court of Appeal and a more limited right of recourse to the Court of Cassation on points of law. Separately, any resolution of the Authority, including a resolution establishing an infringement, may be chal - lenged before the Appeal Tribunal established under Article (25) of the Competition Law, a specialised tri - bunal composed of judges of the Civil High Court of Appeal, with a final right of appeal to the Court of Cas - sation. Because a favourable Authority resolution, or the outcome of any challenge to it before the Appeal Tribunal or Court of Cassation, is a precondition to the admissibility of a private damages claim (see 2.1 Statutory Basis ), the administrative appeal route and the civil damages claim are procedurally linked rather than fully independent. 2.3 Impact of Competition Authorities Decisions of the Competition Authority carry more than persuasive weight in private litigation. Under Article (52)(2) of the Competition Law, a civil court hearing a private damages claim for breach of Arti - cle (3)(1), Article (9)(1) or Article (12)(1) is required to adopt the Authority’s resolution as to whether a viola - tion was committed, unless that resolution has since been amended or revoked by the Appeal Tribunal established under Article (25), or, on further appeal, the Court of Cassation. The court’s role is therefore generally confined to assessing loss, causation and
25 A NTITRUST LI T IGATI O N 2026
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