A sweeping new framework to regulate the legal profession is set to be debated at the Shura Council on Sunday.
The draft Lawyers’ Law will replace legislation that has governed the profession for more than four decades, introducing tighter standards, clearer career pathways and stronger ethical oversight for lawyers in the kingdom.
The proposed law has received unanimous backing from Parliament and has been endorsed by Shura’s legislative and legal affairs committee.
Committee chairwoman Dalal Al Zayed said the reform was designed to modernise the profession in line with Bahrain’s development goals and international best practice.
“This law establishes a contemporary legislative framework for the legal profession that keeps pace with the rapid development of legal practice locally and internationally,” she said. “It enhances professional standards, protects clients’ rights and preserves the dignity and independence of lawyers as partners in achieving justice.”
The committee reviewed extensive feedback from the Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Ministry, the Supreme Judicial Council, the Bahrain Bar Society, and the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), alongside comparative studies of laws in GCC and Arab states.
One of the most notable reforms is the restructuring of lawyers’ registers into three tiers based on court levels – lower courts, appeal courts, and the Cassation and Constitutional Courts – with the minister empowered to introduce specialised registers by language or legal field.
The draft also tightens entry requirements. Trainee lawyers must complete two years of supervised training at a licensed office, pass a training course and sit an additional exam before joining the practising register.
Lawyers seeking to renew their registration may be asked to prove they have practised over the previous two years, or risk transfer to the non-practising list.
“This addresses a long-standing issue where registration was renewed without real practice, merely to accumulate seniority,” Ms Al Zayed explained.
To strengthen financial governance and align with anti-money laundering requirements, every law office will be required to operate a dedicated professional bank account for all legal fees and transactions.
The law formally allows contingency fees of up to 25 per cent of awarded amounts, provided no lump sum is combined with the percentage. It also extends the time limit for lawyers to claim unpaid fees from one year to five years and gives their fees priority status after public treasury debts.
The committee backed Parliament’s decision to remove a clause that would have made professional indemnity insurance mandatory, saying insurance should remain optional and that most comparative laws do not impose it on lawyers.
Another key provision regulates foreign legal participation. Non-Bahraini lawyers may be licensed to appear in specialised commercial cases, subject to reciprocity and only in partnership with a Bahraini lawyer authorised to practise before the higher courts. Criminal, administrative, Sharia, personal status, rental and labour cases remain reserved for Bahraini lawyers.
The draft also deletes a provision that would have allowed foreign legal consultancy firms to appear before courts, reinforcing that court representation is a function of licensed individual lawyers, not firms.
Ethical standards have been significantly reinforced in the new draft legislation. It obliges lawyers to uphold honour, integrity and independence, regulates conflicts of interest, and bars former judges from accepting cases they previously handled.
Disciplinary rules are overhauled with clearer complaint procedures, reduced limitation periods for filing complaints, and administrative fine scaled down to BD1,000. The power to suspend a lawyer pending referral to the disciplinary board was removed, in line with constitutional principles presuming innocence.
“This law strikes a careful balance between accountability and protection,” Ms Al Zayed said. “It strengthens oversight while safeguarding lawyers’ constitutional guarantees and professional standing.”
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
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