Enforcement of Judgments 2022 Comparisons

Identifying the asset position of another party is not always easy in any jurisdiction. Depending on the circumstances, two key approaches are available to a party seeking such information in Bahrain: either through publicly available sources or by way of enforcement/court order. Additionally, a debtor remains under a duty to disclose the location of any assets available for enforcement. 

Publicly Available Information

Websites such as www.sijilat.bh offer a companies and agencies register with publicly available commercial information such as company names, registered addresses, dates of corporate registration and trading status. Information such as company accounts, articles of association and charges over company assets and properties are not available without specific request. 

However, the company registration available on the Sijilat site does also provide the total paid-up capital figure, the shareholders and their respective shareholdings together with the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO).

The addition of the UBO details is pursuant to Bahrain Resolution No 83 of 2020 concerning the Standards, Requirements and Rules to Determine Ultimate Beneficiaries, which requires UBOs of registered entities to submit their information (such as their passport and tax identification number) on the Sijilat portal. It should be noted that this is a work in progress and that this information has not yet been completed for each company listing.

Court Orders

A party that brings proceedings in Bahrain may apply to the Bahrain courts for an order for an individual or company to disclose certain documents as defined in a specific request. The party making the request must demonstrate to the court that it has a legitimate interest in the documents for the purpose of its case.

In addition, various enforcement and/or injunctive relief procedures are also available against individuals or companies and their assets. These reliefs are most commonly sought either through the court of urgent matters (at the beginning of, or during, litigious proceedings) or from the execution court when enforcing a final judgment.

Information regarding a party’s assets is not publicly available from the ministries (ie, the Survey & Land Registration Bureau for property) and, as such, a party wishing to obtain information relating to assets registered to another party will need a court order in their favour. 

Upon the execution of a judgment in Bahrain, the execution court will exercise its jurisdiction and request confirmation of the debtor's assets from each of the relevant government entities, including the Central Bank of Bahrain (which will, in turn, contact the financial institutions). This would usually include any sums held in accounts, vehicles and property.

A debtor facing enforcement proceedings is under a duty to disclose the whereabouts of funds sufficient to repay the debt. If the debtor’s assets are insufficient, the debtor must disclose all their assets, including those held by third parties. 

A party can obtain a number of different domestic judgments through the courts of Bahrain. Civil cases in Bahrain fall under the jurisdiction of the Bahrain civil courts, which comprise the following: 

• the small claims court;
• the high civil court;
• the higher court of appeal;
• the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution (BCDR) court;
• the court of cassation; and 
• the court of urgent matters.

The small claims court has jurisdiction over cases of less than BHD5,000 in value. 

The high civil court deals with all civil disputes in Bahrain of more than BHD5,000 in value, and acts as an appeal court to the small claims court. 

In 2009, the Bahrain government established the BCDR, which creates both a specialised commercial court (the "BCDR court") and an alternative dispute resolution centre providing a forum for international arbitration and mediation (the "BCDR-AAA"). Litigation proceedings are brought pursuant to Section One of Legislative Decree No (30) of 2009 as amended by Legislative Decree No (64) of 2014, while arbitration and mediation are undertaken pursuant to Section Two of the decree.

The BCDR court (Section One) has jurisdiction over high-value commercial claims (in excess of BHD500,000) which are of an international nature, or involve a Central Bank of Bahrain licensee. These cases cannot be brought in any other civil court in Bahrain. 

It is important to note that the BCDR court is a civil court of Bahrain and its judgments are considered final judgments, with the only recourse being directly to the court of cassation. A point of interest is that foreign lawyers may also represent parties before the BCDR court if they have a joint power of attorney with a Bahrain lawyer authorised to practise before the Bahrain court of cassation.

The court of cassation is the highest appellate court in Bahrain and deals with applications for annulment of judgments and matters of state. The court of cassation does not re-examine the facts of a case and only reviews technical legal arguments. Court of cassation rulings are final and enforceable; they cannot be appealed further.

Default Judgment

The Bahrain courts allow for default judgments in circumstances where a defendant has been summoned but fails to appear before the court without a valid reason. This is determined by the judge on a case-by-case basis, as Bahrain law does not provide an exhaustive list of what these reasons may be. 

Summary Judgment

Summary judgment is also available in domestic proceedings, based on the judge’s discretion. Summary judgments and orders are “provisionally enforceable”, ie, they can be immediately referred to the execution court for enforcement, even prior to the expiry of the appeal deadline or while they are the subject of an appeal. Parties can make applications to the court to have enforcement of judgments stayed pending the outcome of any substantive hearing (there is, of course, no guarantee that any such request will be granted).

Interim Relief

Bahrain courts also offer a number of interim relief measures upon application to the relevant courts, such as: 

• the appointment of a guardian/custodian/judicial receiver over assets;
• attachments over bank accounts, properties and other assets, such as shares; 
• orders to preserve property;
• freezing orders;
• orders to prevent assets being removed from the jurisdiction; and 
• other restrictions on individuals, such as travel bans. 

Interim measures can be applied before, during or after the judgment has been issued (pending execution) by the claimant submitting an application to obtain interim relief before the competent court. Where there is a substantial risk that a claimant’s rights may be impinged, the claimant may submit an application to the court of urgent matters to expedite measures.

Attachment Orders

A domestic judgment may be enforced by an order for the attachment of assets as well as an order for assets to be sold.

An applicant wishing to make an attachment order prior to proceedings must prove to the court that there are valid reasons for doing so, such as: 

• a risk that the defendant will dissipate its assets; or
• a risk that the defendant will hinder or delay the enforcement of a judgment.

Once an attachment order has been granted by a court (interim) or a final judgment issued and filed accordingly with the execution court, the related procedures are taken automatically against the property of the judgment debtor directly, as follows:

• attachment of bank accounts within the limits of the debt subject of the writ of execution; and
• attachment of movables and real estate.

If the judgment debtor proves that the value of their property greatly exceeds the subject matter of the writ of execution, the judgment debtor may propose execution against specific attached funds and lift the execution on the remainder of the restricted property. In the case of enforcement this is likely to be granted by the judge if it does not prejudice the speed of execution and the guarantees of full payment of the debt.

A party seeking to enforce a domestic judgment would need as a first step to notify the debtor with a copy of the judgment at least seven days prior to making a formal application for enforcement, thereby providing the debtor with an opportunity to pay the debt. 

In the absence of payment, the judgment creditor would make an application to the court of execution (if court of cassation proceedings are ongoing, these do not automatically stay the enforcement proceedings).

The party is required to bring the following to the court of execution: 

• a copy of the judgment and an ID card, if an individual;
• an execution copy and a ratified copy of the verdict of the final court judgment (which may differ to the above if there has been an appeal); and
• a power of attorney, if there is a lawyer acting for the judgment beneficiary.

Applications are made to the execution court together with a request seeking confirmation of the assets held by the debtor from the relevant ministries in Bahrain. The execution court will exercise its jurisdiction and request confirmation of the debtor's assets from each of the relevant government entities, including the Central Bank of Bahrain (which will, in turn, contact the financial institutions). The execution court will then freeze assets (including cash) up to the value of the judgment debt. If there are no liquid assets, the court will seize property and sell it at auction to settle the judgment. 

Almost all assets can be attached in Bahrain, including movable and immovable property, but there are of course some specific assets that cannot be enforced against, such as:

• public property or state-owned property; 
• funds of foreign embassies and diplomatic bodies that enjoy diplomatic immunity; 
• government support and social subsidies provided to the judgment debtor;
• wages and salaries of employees;
• property belonging to an individual or a company that is necessary for the defendant to continue working; and 
• the personal dwelling of the defendant’s family. 

The court may issue its judgment with a declaration of provisional execution with guarantee at the request of the litigants in specific cases, such as judgments issued in possessory actions, eviction of a tenant, payment of wages and salaries, and the performance of urgent repairs. The court with which an appeal or grievance to the payment order is filed may order at the request of the interested parties a stay of the provisional execution if it fears gross damage may arise from such execution and if it considers the grounds for challenging the judgment make its cancellation likely.

If the property available is not sufficient to repay the judgment debt, the judge may issue an order to annotate the debtor’s credit register to this effect for a period of seven years, in order to protect potential creditors in the future and not increase the debts of the judgment debtor, until the settlement of the debts or expiry of seven years.

Specific Performance

If a debtor subject to enforcement proceedings fails to pay the debt within ten days of the date of notification of the writ of execution (eg, a judgment or authenticated deed), the creditor can request the court of execution to either impose a penalty on the debtor, or to force the debtor to perform their obligation, unless the debtor can prove that specific performance is not possible.

The enforcement of final judgments in Bahrain is carried out predominantly by the execution court. As with any jurisdiction, the length of time it takes for a judgment to be settled is almost entirely reliant on the availability of the debtor’s assets.

The Bahrain execution court is efficient and dependable, with systems in place for timely recovery if assets are available. 

The swiftest recovery option is, of course, liquid assets held by the banks in Bahrain. The execution court requests the debtor’s asset position from the Central Bank of Bahrain and, if there are monies held in any bank in Bahrain, the execution court issues an order for an amount up to the value of the judgment to be frozen and transferred to the court account. In these circumstances, enforcement can take as little as eight weeks.

However, if there are no liquid assets available and property is required to be seized and auctioned, or judicial receivers need to be appointed to manage the property (eg, in the case of a business/rental property), the time period for enforcement can be extended considerably. There is of course no fixed amount of time for recovery in these circumstances, and cases are dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

Execution court fees are governed by Legislative Decree No (3) of 1972 (as amended) (the "Judicial Fees Law"). In accordance with this legislation, the execution court charges a fee per enforcement order – this means that each application for a freeze or a seizure of assets is charged separately in accordance with the value of the claim.

The execution court in Bahrain is key to post-judgment procedures for determining a defendant’s assets. The execution court is responsible, pursuant to a claimant’s application, for obtaining the requisite information from the relevant ministries and government authorities. The execution court judge issues requests for information held by the authorities and, once this is received, will make the necessary orders to seize the same.

In addition, and as discussed in 1.1 Options to Identify Another Party's Asset Position, a debtor is under a general duty to disclose any assets and a court may make a disclosure order against a defendant compelling them to disclose their assets, including any property owned and monies held in bank accounts. 

Appeals and challenges to judgments in Bahrain differ depending on the stage of proceedings and the court that issued the judgment.

Once a judgment is handed down, a party may appeal from the small claims court to the high civil court, or from the high civil court to the higher court of appeal, if they believe there has been an error of fact and/or law. Appeals from the higher court of appeal to the court of cassation may be made on points of law only. BCDR court judgments are non-appealable; the only recourse available is annulment to the court of cassation, on limited grounds. 

A party has to file its appeal/challenge at the relevant court within 45 days of receiving notice of the judgment (subject to some exceptions). Notice is issued if the judgment is presented to all parties at a hearing, and the right to appeal is lost if the timeframe for filing the appeal expires. 

As per Articles 22 and 23 of Bahrain Decree-Law No 22/2021 on the Promulgation of the Execution Law in Civil and Commercial Matters, which abrogated Article 8 of the Civil and Commercial Procedures Act 1971 (CCPA), the role of the execution court is to enforce the judgments received without entertaining objections by a party to the judgment itself. If there appears to be any element of a judgment that is practically unenforceable, an execution court judge must not offer any opinion as to resolution and instead must seek clarification of the relevant section in writing from the trial judge. 

Challenge of Attachment Orders

The party against whom the attachment order is imposed, and any interested party, may file a complaint with the execution court for any of the following reasons:

• the attachment concerns property not belonging to the judgment debtor in whole or in part;
• there are competing rights over the attached property for the same or a higher amount;
• it is illegal to proceed with the sale of the attached property; and/or
• the amount of the attachment exceeds the prescribed amount. 

The complaint needs to be filed within seven days of receiving notification of the attachment order. 

The decision issued by the execution court can then be appealed to the high court within seven days of its notification. The appeal will proceed as a summary case.

As with any jurisdiction, there are of course judgments that have limited enforceability, by virtue of their subject matter. As discussed in 2.2 Enforcement of Domestic Judgments, judgments ordering attachment to assets such as the family dwelling of a party, a party’s business documents and property, or property owned by the state are unenforceable.

Furthermore, the Bahrain court will not order an attachment to property if it is not satisfied it is necessary to do so (eg, there is no reasonable risk that the defendant is likely to flee the jurisdiction or dissipate the asset). However, courts tend to grant interim orders, such as freeze orders and travel bans, more frequently. 

There is no publicly available central register of all judgments. While court hearings are public and judgments are not technically confidential, practically speaking, a party needs to have (and be able to demonstrate) a legitimate interest in order to obtain copies of proceedings to which it was not a party.

The Bahrain government website contains an online "courts and cases service" where it is possible to query and search for details of civil legal proceedings. However, this resource is not publicly available; an electronic key is needed from Bahrain-qualified and registered counsel in order to access this. 

Enforcing foreign judgments in Bahrain is not an overly onerous or complex process, provided the party has access to the original documents and can have these legalised or apostilled (depending on the country the judgment is issued in).

Bahrain is a signatory to a number of reciprocal recognition treaties, including: 

• the Hague Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes 1907; 
• the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of other States 1965;
• the Riyadh Arab Agreement for Judicial Cooperation 1983 (the "Riyadh Convention");
• the Gulf Cooperation Council Convention for the Execution of Judgments, Delegations and Judicial Notifications 1995 (the "GCC Convention"); and
• various bilateral investment treaties and free trade agreements.

Generally speaking, Bahrain courts will enforce a foreign judgment without requiring prior recognition proceedings if the judgment originates from a country that is also a signatory to one of the same treaties. For example, the Riyadh and GCC Conventions apply to all GCC countries, hence a judgment in the UAE is likely to be automatically recognised in Bahrain (subject to the following). 

Where reciprocal recognition is not established via a treaty between Bahrain and the foreign country, the recognition of foreign judgments is governed by Decree-Law No 22/2021, and foreign judgments may still be recognised following an application for such to the high civil court (this is essentially a fresh claim in which the court may choose to re-examine the issues if the defendant submits a defence).

Under Article 16(3) of Decree-Law No 22/2021, no enforcement order of a foreign country judgment may be passed except after ascertaining the following: 

• that the courts of Bahrain are not competent to hear the case in respect of which the court judgment or order was passed, and that the foreign courts which passed it are competent in accordance with the international rules of jurisdiction set down in the laws thereof;
• that the litigants in the case in respect of which the judgment was issued were duly summoned and properly represented;
• that the judgment or order has become final in accordance with the law of the court that passed it; and
• that the judgment or order does not conflict with any judgment or order previously passed by the courts of Bahrain and does not provide for anything that constitutes a breach of public order or morality.

As discussed in 3.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Foreign Judgments, the treatment of foreign judgments will depend on the country from which the judgment originates and whether a treaty exists between Bahrain and that country. 

A party seeking recognition of a foreign judgment in Bahrain must be aware that, while the civil and commercial law of Bahrain is not governed primarily by Islamic law, the courts will consider certain principles of Islamic law as forming part of Bahrain’s public order and ethics, and therefore may use Article 16(3)(4) of Decree-Law No 22/2021 to justify rehearing the case. 

Under the Riyadh Convention, judgments against governments or government employees that relate to their administrative duties are not recognised. 

Recognition of a foreign judgment is also rejected under the Riyadh convention if: 

• recognition would contradict the principles of Islamic law or the constitution and public order of the requested country;
• the party against which the judgment is invoked was not duly summoned;
• the laws of the requested country concerning the legal representation of ineligible persons or persons of diminished eligibility were not taken into consideration;
• the dispute is subject to a final judgment in the requested country, or in a third country, provided that the requested country has already recognised this judgment; or 
• the dispute is subject to a case currently being heard by the requested country’s courts filed prior to the application for recognition being made.

Provided that a certificate of final judgment/enforceability can be obtained from the country in which the judgment was obtained, default and summary judgments can be recognised and enforced in Bahrain.

A foreign judgment in Bahrain is enforced by bringing the judgment before the Bahrain high civil court for recognition and paying the prescribed court fees (see 3.5 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce Foreign Judgments). 

A foreign judgment will only be enforced if it meets the criteria set out in 3.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Foreign Judgments. In accordance with Decree-Law No 22/2021, it is essential that the Bahrain judge is satisfied that the litigants have been duly summoned and properly represented.

If the award is recognised, a party must seek enforcement from the Bahrain court of execution. Domestic authorities must execute the foreign judgments as issued (ie, not in part), provided that they do not oppose sharia and public order.

Recognition of Judgments from Treaty Countries

The GCC Convention (Article 1) states that each of the GCC countries will “execute the final judgments issued by the courts of any member state in civil, commercial and administrative cases and the personal affairs cases in accordance with the procedures as provided under this agreement, provided that the court that issued the judgment has the jurisdiction in accordance with the international jurisdiction as applicable in the member state where the judgment is required to be executed or has the jurisdiction in accordance with the provisions of this agreement”.

Enforcement under the Riyadh Convention (Article 32) requires the competent judicial body to establish that the judgment complies with the provisions of the Riyadh Convention and confirm this in its judgment. The competent body will then order appropriate measures to be taken to give the judgment the same enforceable status as it would have had if it had been made by the requested party.

Recognition of Judgments from Non-treaty Countries

In the absence of a treaty such as the GCC or Riyadh Convention being in place, or in the absence of a principle of reciprocity between Bahrain and the jurisdiction in which the foreign judgment originates, a fresh claim must be filed before the competent court requesting that it acknowledges and recognises such judgment – the foreign judgment may be used as evidence in support of this application.

The enforcement of all judgments in Bahrain is carried out predominantly by the execution court; this includes foreign judgments being enforced as per any applicable treaty or agreement, foreign judgments recognised by the Bahrain courts, and foreign judgments confirmed following application to the courts as a fresh case. All judgments capable of being enforced in accordance with the Bahrain law requirements are treated the same for the purpose of enforcement.

That being said, the position regarding the enforcement of foreign judgments is the same as for domestic judgments (see 2.3 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce Domestic Judgments). The length of time it takes for a judgment to be enforced is almost entirely dependent on the availability of the debtor’s assets, and the costs are subject to the Judicial Fees Law on an application basis.

Appeals of foreign judgments are subject to the limitations set out in 2.5 Challenging Enforcement of Domestic Judgments. 

To appeal a foreign judgment that has been enforced by a Bahrain court of execution, a party must submit an application to the Bahrain high civil court.

Bahrain is a leading GCC centre for arbitral proceedings and the principle of arbitration itself is a well-recognised and respected form of dispute settlement. Bahrain also has an established history of enforcement of global arbitral awards. 

A Favourable Approach towards Arbitration

Arbitration is a popular means of dispute resolution in Bahrain and, as discussed in 2.1 Types of Domestic Judgments, the jurisdiction established its own arbitration institution in 2009, the BCDR-AAA, which ranks among the most competitive in the region. The Arbitration Rules of the BCDR (the "BCDR Rules") have been developed in partnership with the American Arbitration Association, with the most recent amendment to these rules taking place in 2017. In March 2022, the BCDR adopted a set of bespoke Sports Arbitration Rules designed to specifically cater to the needs of the sports industry in the region. 

Another important institution headquartered in Bahrain is the Gulf Cooperation Council Commercial Arbitration Centre (GCCCAC), a regional arbitration authority established in 1993.

Other arbitration institutions commonly used for international commercial arbitration by parties in Bahrain are the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) and the Abu Dhabi Global Market Arbitration Centre (ADGMAC).

Legal Framework for the Enforcement of Arbitral Awards

The New York Convention

Bahrain has been a signatory of the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the "New York Convention") since 6 April 1988. 

In accordance with the terms of Bahrain’s accession to the New York Convention, Bahrain will recognise and enforce: 

• on the basis of reciprocity – ie, only those foreign arbitral awards made in the territory of another contracting state party to the New York Convention; and
• subject to commerciality – ie, only those foreign arbitral awards resulting from disputes arising out of legal relationships, whether contractual or not, which are considered commercial under the national law of the State of Bahrain.

The UNCITRAL Model Law

Legislative Decree No 9 of 2015 (the "Bahrain Arbitration Law") adopts the provisions of the UNCITRAL Model Law (the "Model Law") in their entirety. The Bahrain Arbitration Law adds further substantive provisions, including:

• appointing a single court competent for arbitration assistance and supervision (Article 3 confirms that the high civil court is entrusted with considering and determining all arbitration-related applications);
• authorising the representation of parties by non-Bahrain lawyers (Article 6 states that parties can be represented by foreign lawyers in international arbitrations held in Bahrain); and
• the removal of arbitrator liability (Article 7 removes liability from arbitrators in the course of their appointment, unless they acted in bad faith or committed gross misconduct/serious error).

In accordance with the provisions of the Model Law, the Bahrain Arbitration Law will recognise any arbitral award as final and binding subject to a few limited grounds for refusing enforcement or recognition, as set out under 4.3 Categories of Arbitral Awards Not Enforced.

The BCDR Law

Legislative Decree No 30 of 2009 with respect to the BCDR (the "BCDR Law") sets out specific rules applying to the enforcement of arbitral awards rendered by the BCDR under the BCDR Arbitration Rules (see 4.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Arbitral Awards). 

There are two routes to enforce arbitral awards in Bahrain. The first route applies to the enforcement of arbitral awards rendered under the BCDR Rules, while the second route is relevant to the enforcement of other domestic and international arbitral awards. 

Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Rendered under the BCDR Rules

Pursuant to Article 23 of the BCDR Law, enforcing an arbitral award rendered under the BCDR Arbitration Rules requires an order of a judge of the high court of appeal. 

When making an application for an enforcement order to the high court of appeal, the applicant must provide: 

• the original award together with an Arabic translation if the award was originally drawn up in another language; and
• an Arabic copy of the arbitration agreement. 

The high court of appeal allows for rounds of submissions by the parties and, upon the application of the party seeking enforcement, can hand down freezing orders over the debtor’s assets concurrently with its enforcement order.

Subject to the judge of the high court of appeal being satisfied that the arbitral award does not contravene Bahrain’s public order, the judge will issue a “reasoned” enforcement order in favour of the applicant or, in the unlikely event that the award is in breach of public policy, an order denying enforcement.

The enforcement order can be challenged within 30 days of its notification, on any of the limited grounds for setting aside an arbitral award as set out under Article 24 of the BCDR Law (see 4.6 Challenging Enforcement of Arbitral Awards). 

The judge that has issued the enforcement order will not be “included in the composition of the court selected to adjudicate the petition” challenging the enforcement order.

Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Not Rendered under the BCDR Arbitration Rules

In accordance with Article 3 of Decree-Law No 22/2021, enforcing an arbitral award – whether domestic or international – that is not made under the BCDR Arbitration Rules requires making an application to the high civil court. 

This application must include: 

• the original award or a copy thereof, together with an Arabic translation if the award was originally drawn up in another language; and
• an Arabic copy of the arbitration agreement. 

The high civil court allows for rounds of submissions by the parties. Subject to having ascertained that “there is nothing preventing [the arbitral award's] implementation”, the president of the high civil court will then issue an enforcement order in favour of the applicant, or an order denying enforcement. 

See 4.6 Challenging Enforcement of Arbitral Awards regarding the grounds preventing enforcement.

An award that has not yet become final and binding on the parties (ie, is still subject to proceedings) or that has been set aside or suspended by a court of the country in which, or under the law of which, it was made, may be declared unenforceable in Bahrain, upon the application of a party. 

When an award is subject to ongoing set-aside proceedings in the country in which, or under the law of which, it was made, the Bahrain courts may suspend enforcement proceedings and may also, upon the application of the party claiming recognition or enforcement of the award, order the other party to provide appropriate security. 

It is also difficult to enforce an interim award in Bahrain on the basis that this would not be the "final" award in any proceedings.

Although a state or state entity may raise a defence of sovereign immunity at the enforcement stage, the Bahrain courts take their judicial independence and the rule of law seriously and, as such, a state or state entity would need to show genuine and sufficient evidence in order to successfully defend enforcement on such grounds. However, the seizure of funds of foreign embassies and diplomatic bodies enjoying diplomatic immunity is explicitly prohibited.

As briefly outlined in 4.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Arbitral Awards, an application for an enforcement order must be made in writing to either the Bahrain high court of appeal (for arbitral awards rendered under the BCDR Arbitration Rules) or the Bahrain high civil court (for other arbitral awards).

Once obtained, the enforcement order is then taken to the Bahrain court of execution, where the enforcing party can apply for the following measures: 

• an issue of attachment orders on property;
• ordering a forced sale of property subject to such attachment order; 
• ordering the payment of amounts under the judgment;
• collecting payments and transfers of payments to the award debtors; 
• seeking assistance from the Bahrain police force; 
• seeking an order for the arrest of the debtor; 
• levying a distraint over assets; and/or 
• ordering the sale of any property by public auction.

In the case of further dispute, orders made by the court of execution can be referred to the high civil court, which decision is deemed final.

Court fees for applications for the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards and for challenges and appeals are subject to the rules on which judicial fees are levied, as per the Judicial Fees Law, on a case-by-case basis.

Main Grounds for Challenging Enforcement of Arbitral Awards

The enforcement of arbitral awards can be challenged during the initial application for the enforcement of arbitral awards filed with either the high court of appeal or the high civil court (depending on whether the arbitral award in question has been rendered under the BCDR Arbitration Rules – see 4.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Arbitral Awards), on the following limited grounds: 

• incapacity of either party; 
• invalidity of the arbitration agreement;
• lack of proper notice of the appointment of the tribunal or of the arbitration proceedings to the defendant; 
• the defendant being unable to present their case; 
• the tribunal having exceeded its jurisdiction; 
• the composition of the arbitral tribunal or the arbitration procedure was not in accordance with the parties’ agreement or with the law of the country; and/or 
• the subject matter of the dispute makes it impossible to reach a settlement by arbitration under the laws of Bahrain, or is otherwise contrary to the public policy of Bahrain. 

Consequences of Enforcement of an Application to Set Aside an Arbitral Award

Filing an application to set aside an arbitral award before the court of cassation (for arbitral awards rendered under the BCDR Arbitration Rules) or the high civil court (for other arbitral awards) will not automatically stay the enforcement of the arbitral award. 

The party resisting enforcement may request an interim order for a stay on enforcement of the arbitral award, pending the determination of the application to set aside. However, such orders are rarely obtained.