The Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution (BCDR) was established by Legislative Decree No. 30 of 2009. It operates in partnership with the American Arbitration Association (AAA). BCDR role takes the judicial process in Bahrain to a new dimension that gives arbitration and mediation a great bush forward to achieve speedy justice.
However, we need to highlight that BCDR, has got its own characteristics and special features. This comes from the fact that, there are two types of jurisdictions for BCDR. The first, is the jurisdiction given by law, whereas the second is the jurisdiction given by the disputant parties by special agreement. The two types of jurisdictions got some difference however, they go in line to achieve the same purpose. Regarding the first type, the Chamber shall have jurisdiction to settle certain disputes originally within the jurisdiction of Bahrain Courts or other entities having judicial jurisdiction.
The jurisdiction, by law, covers all cases in which the value of the claim exceeds five hundred thousand dinars. This jurisdiction includes, all disputes among financial institutions licensed according to the provisions of the law of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) or between these institutions and other institutions, companies, and individuals. Also, includes, international commercial disputes. A dispute shall be deemed international, if the location of one of the disputant parties or the place where a substantial part of the obligation of the commercial relationship is to be performed, or the location most closely connected with the dispute is overseas. However, a dispute shall be deemed commercial if its subject matter, contractual or non-contractual, concerns relationships of a commercial nature including any transaction of supplying goods or services or the exchange thereof, distribution agreements, commercial representation or commercial agency, managing rights before others, hiring, construction of factories, engineering works, issuing licenses, investment and financing, banking transactions, insurance, franchising agreements, joint ventures, any other forms of industrial or commercial cooperation and transporting commodities or passengers by air, sea or land.
Regarding, the jurisdiction given by the parties based on an agreement, the chamber shall be competent to see all disputes that the parties agree in writing to settle by the chamber. This means that it is open for all types of disputes depending on the wish of the disputant parties and irrespective of the value of the claim, below five hundred thousand dinars.