Legal Framework

Recent years have seen the promulgation of various laws to position Bahrain as a competitive regional jurisdiction. This chapter reviews these new laws, including Bahrain’s new Law for the Encouragement and Protection of Competition, which came into effect on February 1, 2019. The first dedicated Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) came into force on August 1, 2019. Prior to the implementation of the PDPL, there was no single codified data protection law in force in Bahrain. The Protected Cells Company Law, designed to further develop Bahrain’s financial sector, facilitates local and foreign investment, and promotes the country as a simple, secure and cost-effective place to do business in the Middle East. This chapter contains a viewpoint from Hatim Q Zu’bi, Zu’bi & Partners, Attorneys & Legal Consultants.