Bahrain makes substantial changes regarding legal professionals
On 14 June 2026, Law No. (24) of 2026 promulgating the Legal Profession Law (hereinafter referred to as “Law“) was issued. The Law repealed its 1980 counterpart and seeks to effectively regulate the profession of advocacy. Furthermore, the Law requires law offices to bring their status into conformity with its provisions within one year from the date the Law comes into force, subject to extension by the Minister. Some of the core aspects of the Law are as follows:
- Scope of Advocacy Work
Article 3 of the Law defines advocacy work to include the following:
- Appearing before the courts, arbitration tribunals, authorities with judicial jurisdiction, public prosecution, investigating magistrate, administrative investigation bodies, and police departments on behalf of individuals with standing; defending them in actions brought by or against them; and conducting litigation work and related court proceedings;
- Providing legal consultation;
- Drafting contracts and related legal procedures;
- Representing parties in non-judicial work by virtue of a special power of attorney; and
- Work provided for in any other law in the capacity of legal work.
Article 4 of the Law goes on to state that advocacy work cannot be combined with:
- Presidency of legislative councils, ministerial positions or municipal councils.
- Holding public office in the State, or employment in any public body or institution, except where an exemption is granted by way of decree following the recommendation of the Council of the Ministers.
- Working in banks, companies, associations or employment with individuals, except for professions as licensed by a decision of the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Waqf (hereinafter referred to as “Ministry”) as issued by the Minister.
- General Roll of Lawyers
Article 7 of the Law mandates the establishment of a General Roll for the registration of lawyers at the Ministry containing details such as names, address, place of practice and contact details. Furthermore, the General Roll is to contain the (a) roll of practicing lawyers (containing appended rolls of lawyers licensed to appear before the Minor Court, High Civil Court, Court of Appeal, Court of Cassation and Constitutional Court) (b) roll of trainee lawyers and (c) roll of non-practicing lawyers.
- Registration
Article 11 of the Law requires enrolled practicing and trainee lawyers to renew their registration each year periodically in accordance with the requirements as determined by a Ministerial decision.
Furthermore, Article 13 of the Law states that a lawyer who does not pay the renewal fees by the end of the year for which the renewal fees are due empowers the Minister, by way of a decision to transfer the lawyer to the roll of non-practicing lawyers after notifying said lawyer. In this instance, the lawyer must pay a fresh registration fee in addition to double the past-due renewal price in order to be re-registered.
- Comparison with 1980 law
Some of the substantive changes from the Law’s 1980 counterpart i.e., Decree No. (26) of 1980 promulgating the Lawyer’s Law (“1980 Law“) include as follows:
- Contingency Fees: Article 31 of the 1980 Law outright banned lawyers from any fee arrangement tied to the value of the disputed claim. Article 43 of the Law reverses this to the extent by permitting contingency fees of 25% of the value adjudicated or settled.
- Tier-based Rolls: The 1980 Law had only a single Roll for practicing lawyers with no court-based tiering. The Law adds to this under Article 7 by splitting the Roll of practicing lawyers to include Minor Court, High Civil Court, Court of Appeal, Court of Cassation and Constitutional Court.
- Anti-Money Laundering (AML): Article 33 of the Law now casts a mandatory requirement for law offices to maintain a dedicated bank account for fee transactions, therein setting in anti-money laundering compliances within the legal profession.
- Penalties for unauthorized practice: Article 59 of the Law adds a penalty barring impersonation and unathorized practice of the legal profession, failing which, the defaulter is subject to imprisonment and/or fine not less than BHD 500 and not exceeding BHD 5,000.
- Fee on settlement or arbitration: While Article 32 of the 1980 Law entitled the lawyer to half the agreed fee (absent any agreement to the contrary), Article 44 of the Law entitles the lawyer who concludes the case by settlement or arbitration and in accordance with the authority delegated by the client, to the agreed fees in full, unless the parties agree otherwise.
Conclusion:
The Law reinforces and adds to the necessary measures to effectively regulate the legal profession and to ensure that advocacy work in the Kingdom of Bahrain continues to operate at the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and competence.
