BAHRAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Noor Al Rayes, Fatema Sarhan, Bradley Price and Raghad Al Matrook, Al Tamimi & Company
6. Interim Remedies 6.1 Availability of Interim Relief
Dispute-related insurance exists but is limited and mostly industry-specific. Formal litigation and arbitra- tion insurance products are still emerging. 5.5 Costs Dispute resolution costs may be partially recoverable from the unsuccessful party, though recovery is typi- cally limited. Court Proceedings Under the Civil and Commercial Procedures Law, adverse costs are generally borne by the losing party. Courts may order payment of court fees and a portion of legal costs. However, recoveries are often lower than actual fees incurred, as courts award costs on a statutory and discretionary basis rather than full Tribunals have discretion to allocate costs, often applying the principle that costs follow the outcome. Tribunals may take a broader approach than courts but typically direct cost orders at the parties, not third parties. 5.6 Assessment of Costs Cost assessment depends primarily on case outcome. Courts generally order the losing party to bear court fees, while legal expenses are at the court’s discretion and typically modest. Where both parties are partially successful, courts may apportion costs fairly. In arbitration, tribunals have broader discretion. Fac- tors considered include: • party conduct during proceedings; • efficiency of proceedings and whether any party caused unnecessary delay or expense; • dispute outcome; • third-party funding arrangements, which may be relevant to security for costs applications; and • tribunals may draw adverse inferences or allocate costs to promote fairness and preserve procedural integrity. indemnity. Arbitration
Courts may grant interim relief to protect a party’s interests during proceedings. Key types include the following. • Prejudgment attachments and freezing orders – The Court of Execution may attach assets to prevent dissipation. Exempt assets include fam- ily dwellings, essential furniture, staff salaries, and public property. • Travel bans – Courts may prevent individuals from leaving Bahrain. • Appointment of receivers – Courts may appoint receivers to manage disputed assets. • Preservation of evidence – The Court of Urgent Matters may order preservation of evidence likely to be lost. • Injunctions – Though uncommon, courts may order specific performance or prohibit certain actions. Bahraini courts have broad jurisdiction to grant interim remedies, including in support of proceedings abroad. 6.2 Interim Relief to Support Arbitration and ADR Courts may grant interim relief in support of arbitra- tion, including asset freezing orders, travel bans and evidence preservation, whether or not the arbitration is seated in Bahrain. Courts recognise and enforce interim measures from arbitral tribunals, including foreign tribunals, subject to limited refusal grounds such as invalid tribunal com- position or terminated measures. The BCDR court may address interim matters arising between dispute submission and tribunal appoint- ment, or in exceptional circumstances preventing the tribunal from acting. Emergency arbitrator relief is available under the BCDR Arbitration Rules 2022. For mediation or conciliation, interim relief is less com- mon given the voluntary nature of participation.
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