BAHRAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Mohamed Shaban, Mohsin Al Alawi and Qassim Al Fardan, Hassan Radhi & Associates
2.3 Cross-Border Disputes and Conflicts Issues Cross-border insurance disputes are addressed through two related but distinct regimes. The inter- national jurisdiction of the Bahraini courts is deter- mined under Civil and Commercial Procedures Law, while the substantive law applicable to the dispute is determined principally under Law No 6 of 2015 on Conflict of Laws in Civil and Commercial Matters with a Foreign Element. Where foreign law applies, the parties are responsible for submitting and establishing the relevant provisions of that law. If they fail to do so, the court may apply Bahraini law. This creates a practical need for properly authenticated legal materials and, where appropriate, expert evidence explaining the content and applica- tion of the foreign law. Other practical difficulties include inconsistent gov- erning-law and jurisdiction clauses, the involvement of insurers and reinsurers in different jurisdictions, translation and legalisation requirements, service outside Bahrain, parallel proceedings and differences between the governing law of the underlying liability and the governing law of the insurance contract. In tort claims, Law No 6 of 2015 also recognises that an injured party may bring a direct claim against the insurer where the law governing the insurance con- Bahraini law does not generally employ the common- law concept of an anti-suit injunction as the ordinary means of enforcing an exclusive jurisdiction clause. A party faced with proceedings allegedly brought in breach of such a clause would normally raise a juris- dictional objection before the court in which the pro- ceedings have been commenced. The court would then determine the effect of the clause within the applicable statutory jurisdictional framework. tract permits such an action. 2.4 Anti-Suit Injunctions The position is more clearly regulated where the par- ties have agreed to arbitration. Under Article 8 of the UNCITRAL Model Law, as adopted in Bahrain, a court before which an action is brought concerning a mat- ter covered by an arbitration agreement must, upon a timely request, refer the parties to arbitration unless
the agreement is null and void, inoperative or incapa- ble of being performed. Anti-arbitration relief would therefore be exceptional. A party challenging the arbitration would ordinarily rely on the invalidity, absence or limited scope of the arbitration agreement, non-arbitrability of the dispute or another ground recognised by the Model Law. Applications for court-ordered interim measures are not, by themselves, inconsistent with an agreement to arbitrate. 2.5 AI-Related Dispute Resolution and Jurisdiction Our firm is not aware of any developed body of report- ed Bahraini court decisions addressing jurisdiction or choice of law specifically in relation to AI systems. Such disputes would currently be dealt with under the existing rules applicable to contracts, torts, data processing and cross-border civil and commercial disputes. In a contractual claim, the governing-law and jurisdic- tion clauses in the relevant technology, licensing, sup- ply or service agreement would be the starting point. In a tort claim, the court would consider where the legally relevant wrongful act occurred, although iden- tifying that location may be difficult where the system, developer, operator, data source and affected person are situated in different jurisdictions. AI disputes may create practical questions concerning the characterisation of the claim, the identity of the responsible party, the place at which an automated decision was made, and the relationship between the governing law of the underlying service and the law applicable to personal data. Until more specific legislation or case law develops, careful contractual allocation of responsibility and jurisdiction will remain particularly important. 3. Arbitration in Insurance Disputes 3.1 Recognition of Arbitration Clauses Arbitration clauses in insurance and reinsurance con- tracts are generally recognised in Bahrain. Law No 9 of 2015 adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law on Inter-
13 I NSURANCE L I T IGATI O N 2026
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