BAHRAIN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Mohamed Ali Shaban and Sayed Mohsin Alalawi, Hassan Radhi & Associates
Hassan Radhi & Associates 9th Floor AlBaraka Tower Bahrain Bay, Office 91 & 92 Building 372, Road 4611, Block 346 Manama, Sea Front PO Box: 5366
Kingdom of Bahrain Tel: +973 1753 5252 Fax: +973 1753 3358
Email: info@hassanradhi.com Web: www.hassanradhi.com
Bahrain: the Evolving Role of the Private Sector in Judgment Enforcement In recent years, Bahrain has overhauled how court judgments are enforced, ushering in a new era of effi - ciency and private sector involvement. A landmark execution law reform in 2022 opened the door for licensed private companies and enforcement officers to take on many duties previously handled solely by a few court officials. This shift has transformed the execution of judgments – the process of collecting debts or obligations after a court ruling – making it faster, more transparent, and more effective for credi - tors and debtors alike. This article provides an over - view of these developments, including the rise of pri - vate enforcement officers (and their dramatic growth in number), the integration of Bahrain’s credit bureau into the enforcement system, and the central role of the company Mazad in auctioning seized assets. New era of judgment execution since 2022 Bahrain’s execution law reform (effective March 2022) marked a turning point for the country’s legal sys - tem. The new law was designed to modernise and streamline judgment enforcement, addressing long- standing issues in the old framework. Prior to 2022, enforcement of civil judgments was notoriously slow and cumbersome – a handful of court officers had to manually handle all enforcement steps, leading to backlogs. For example, under the old system, an enforcement action as simple as freezing a debtor’s bank account could take months of paper corre - spondence between the execution court, the central bank and individual banks. Creditors often faced sig -
nificant delays and bureaucratic hurdles in recovering debts, which undermined confidence in the system. The 2022 reform directly tackled these inefficien - cies. Crucially, the law enabled the court to delegate enforcement tasks to the private sector by introduc - ing electronic linkages between courts and govern - ment entities, and consequently reduced the burden on judges and court staff. This public-private part - nership approach leverages the resources and agility of private entities to support the execution process, under the court’s supervision. In parallel, the Ministry of Justice implemented electronic linkages between the courts and key government agencies (such as the Central Bank, the Survey and Land Registration Bureau, and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce) to replace slow paper-based communications with instant digital notifications. The overarching goal was to create more efficient procedures. Two years following implementation, the impact of these changes is evident. Execution courts now oper - ate in close co-ordination with private enforcement officers, a national credit bureau and a specialised auction platform – a stark contrast to the pre-2022 set-up. While the reforms are still relatively new, early signs indicate improved recovery rates and creditor confidence. The following sections delve into the key developments: • the rise of licensed private enforcers; • enhanced transparency via credit bureau integra - tion; and
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