BCDR Court is separate and distinct from our arbitration and mediation mandate.
The BCDR Court was created by virtue of Legislative Decree No. (30) of 2009 which stipulates that any dispute that comes within the jurisdiction of the courts of Bahrain and where the claim exceeds BD500,000 (approximately US $1.3 million) and involves either an international commercial dispute or a party licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), will fall under the BCDR Court's jurisdiction.
A party files a case under the BCDR Court's Section I of Legislative Decree No. (30) of 2009 by submitting the statement of claim and paying the filing fee. The process of filing the request is governed by Article 8 of Resolution No. (65) of 2009. Article (8) include the Formal Requirements, Information, and Documentation needed to file a case before the BCDR Court. The plaintiff's filing before the BCDR Court shall include:
- The plaintiff's name, title, occupation or position, place of residence or chosen domicile, telephone number, number of commercial register, facsimile number and email address, if any, and the name of their representative and all their contact information.
- The defendant's name, title, occupation or position, place of residence or chosen domicile, telephone number, facsimile number and email address.
- The case merits and the plaintiff's claims.
- The claimed amount.
- Portfolio of documents with a list of documents. If the documents are in a foreign language, the plaintiff shall submit a translation thereof into Arabic unless the parties agreed otherwise.
Number of Copies and Supporting Documents: BCDR Court requires one original and an additional hard copy for each defendant.
Filing Fee
The filing fees of the BCDR Court are determined by the Bahrain Judicial Fees Law.
Representation
Parties may represent themselves or may be represented by lawyers pursuant to Bahrain Advocacy Law.
Non-Bahraini lawyers may not represent or act on behalf of any parties in a case, including the filing of a case, unless they have a joint power of attorney with a Bahraini lawyer who is authorized to practice before the Bahraini Court of Cassation.
Key Features of the BCDR Court:
- Tribunals appointed are composed of three members, two judges of the highest Bahraini jurisdictions and the third member chosen from the BCDR Court's roster of neutrals.
- Judgements rendered by the BCDR Court are considered as final judgments issued by the courts of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
- Judgements are not appealable and the only recourse available is annulment under limited grounds of challenge before the Bahraini Court of Cassation.
- Foreign lawyers may represent parties before the BCDR Court if they have a joint power of attorney with a Bahraini lawyer authorized to practice before the Bahrain Cassation Court.
Enforcement of BCDR Court judgments:
In December 2012, a New York Supreme Court judge ruled that a $25 million judgment from the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution was equivalent to a court judgment in Bahrain and was enforceable in the State of New York as a foreign judgment.