BAHRAIN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Noor Al Rayes, Fatema Sarhan, Bradley Price and Raghad Al Matrook, Al Tamimi & Company
The Bahrain International Commercial Court (BICC): A New Era for Dispute Resolution in the Kingdom Establishment and legal framework The Kingdom of Bahrain has taken a significant step in strengthening its position as a regional hub for legal and financial services by establishing the Bah- rain International Commercial Court (BICC or the “Court”). Created under Legislative Decree No 9 of 2024, the BICC is a major development in Bahrain’s dispute resolution landscape, reflecting an ambition to attract complex, high-value international commercial disputes to the Kingdom. This initiative forms part of a broader legal and eco- nomic strategy to enhance investor confidence and strengthen Bahrain’s competitiveness within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and beyond. Jurisdictions across the region increasingly recognise that modern, internationally focused dispute resolution mechanisms are essential to support cross-border commerce. The BICC places Bahrain firmly within this trend. The Court’s legal framework is further reinforced by the International Agreement on Appeals (adopted as Leg- islative Decree No 8 of 2024), a bilateral treaty signed between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of Singapore on 20 March 2024, providing an innovative appeals mechanism involving the Singapore Interna- tional Commercial Court. This arrangement embeds international judicial co-operation into Bahrain’s court system, enhancing the BICC’s credibility and appeal. The BICC officially launched on 5 November 2025 to hear international commercial disputes, with its Procedural Rules and the Regulations Governing the Registration and Conduct of Lawyers issued on 2 February 2026. Together, these instruments provide a comprehensive framework governing the Court’s jurisdiction, procedures and professional standards. They signal Bahrain’s commitment to aligning its dis- pute resolution infrastructure with international best practices, in efficiency, transparency and party choice. Institutional structure and judiciary The BICC is designed to instil confidence among inter- national litigants by ensuring disputes are resolved by judges of the highest calibre. The Court is led by a
President and a Deputy President, who oversee its operations and the allocation of cases. Its structure includes: • dispute resolution tribunals, which hear cases at first instance; and • appellate tribunals, which determine appeals. Tribunals may be composed of either a single judge or a panel of three judges, depending on the complexity, value and nature of the dispute. This flexibility allows the Court to tailor its approach to the needs of each case, ensuring both efficiency in straightforward mat- ters and depth of analysis in more complex disputes. The involvement of case managers in the early stages of proceedings further supports this process by pro- viding structured assessments that inform tribunal composition and case progression. A distinctive feature of the BICC is its appeals frame- work. Under Article 56 of the Procedural Rules, certain appeals may be referred directly to the International Committee of the Singapore International Commer- cial Court. The Committee may then exercise all the powers of the Court, effectively acting as an interna- tional appeals body. Its decisions are then reissued by a BICC appellate tribunal as final and binding judg- ments, integrating international judicial expertise into the domestic system. This arrangement is believed to be the first of its kind in the region, representing a significant innovation in judicial co-operation. It gives parties added assurance that their disputes will receive rigorous, internationally respected judicial scrutiny, which may be particularly attractive to foreign investors and multinational cor- porations. The BICC also introduces the role of the deputed judge to address urgent matters efficiently. The deputed judge may deal with interim and protec- tive measures, emergency applications, jurisdictional challenges and procedural orders. This is particularly important before the full tribunal is formed, ensuring parties have access to timely judicial relief. The Court places considerable emphasis on judicial independence and impartiality. Judges must remain
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