BAHAMAS Law and Practice Contributed by: Theominique D. Nottage, McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes
1. General 1.1 Prevalence of Arbitration
struction work. The financial services industry has seen growth in the niche area of trusts. The Trustee (Amendment) Act 2011 first introduced legislative provisions to support the arbitration of trust disputes. These legislative provisions have since been strength - ened by the 2023 and 2025 amendments to the Arbi - tration Act 2009, which not only transposed trust arbi - tration provisions from the Trustee (Amendment) Act 2011 but also expanded defined terms and certain powers to protect the arbitrability of trust disputes. In addition to the construction and financial services industries, the maritime and shipping industry has seen an increase in international arbitration activity, with most related contracts (eg, employment) includ - ing arbitral clauses. 1.3 Arbitration Institutions At present, international arbitrations are usually con - ducted on an ad hoc basis in The Bahamas (typically under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules), and when conducted under arbitral institutions, those arbitra - tions are usually conducted under the American Arbi - tration Association’s International Centre for Dispute Resolution, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) or the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). The Bahamas has fledgling arbitral institutions: (i) the International and Western Hemisphere Arbitra - tion, Adjudication and Mediation Centre (IWHAAM); and (ii) the Mid-Atlantic Caribbean Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute (MACADRI). Neither IWHAAM nor MACADRI has been utilised with any frequency for international arbitrations in The Bahamas. There have been no arbitral institutions established in The Baha - mas in the last 12 months as IWHAAM and MACADRI have both been in operation for several years. 1.4 National Courts The Supreme Court of The Bahamas has general supervisory jurisdiction over arbitration-related appli - cations and can hear disputes relating to international arbitrations if they relate to trust arbitration under the Arbitration Act 2009 and its amendments and in rela - tion to domestic arbitrations. If the decision of the Supreme Court is appealed, then it will be heard by the Court of Appeal. The final appellate court of The Bahamas is the Judicial Committee of the Privy Coun - cil and, as seen in RAV Bahamas Ltd v Therapy Beach Club Incorporated [2021] UKPC 8, a Privy Council
While international arbitration is not yet especially prevalent as a method of resolving disputes in The Bahamas, it is well-positioned to grow to become more prevalent. In June 2023, The Bahamas enacted the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commer - cial Arbitration (“Model Law”) by virtue of the Inter - national Commercial Arbitration Act 2023 (“ICAA 2023”). Besides the adoption of the “gold standard” in international commercial arbitration, The Bahamas’ Arbitration Act 2009 (modelled after the English Arbi - tration Act 1996) can be described as “Model Law compliant”. In addition to the aforesaid legislation, The Bahamas has also incorporated the 1958 New York Convention into domestic law by virtue of the Arbitration (Foreign Arbitral Awards) Act 2009. This allows for the cross-border recognition and enforce - ment of arbitral awards. Domestic parties do resort to the use of international commercial arbitration where there is provision for it by arbitral clause in contracts. While litigation is still largely favoured, it is evident from recent jurisprudence, such as the Gabriele Volpi v Delanson Services Limited and RAV Bahamas Ltd v Therapy Beach Club Incorporated cases as well as the arbitration between the Government of The Bahamas and the Grand Bahama Port Authority, that arbitration is increasingly being used to resolve high-stakes dis - putes. International arbitration has mostly been used by domestic parties in contracts as a method of dis - pute resolution (as seen with the arbitration between the Government of The Bahamas and the Grand Bahama Port Authority) and where The Bahamas is the seat of the arbitration (as seen with the RAV Baha- mas Ltd v Therapy Beach Club Incorporated case). 1.2 Key Industries The construction industry and the financial services industry have experienced significant international arbitration activity in recent years. The construction industry has benefited tremendously from the Con - struction Contractors Act 2016, which provides for dispute resolution through mediation and arbitration before resorting to litigation, and for dispute resolu - tion agreements to be included in a written contract between the client and the contractor in the event that a dispute arises regarding the performance of con -
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