Shura to tackle important issues on international commercial court
Shura Council will take up Decree-Laws 8 and 9 of 2024 today to underpin the Bahrain International Commercial Court and review the State’s 2023 final account, which shows a wider deficit after overspending and a 7 per cent rise in public debt. The Financial and Economic Affairs Committee reports that the non-oil economy grew by 3 per cent in 2023 compared with the 2022 outturn. Actual spending exceeded the approved budget, which left a larger deficit at yearend. The committee urges firm steps to rein in expenditure and calls for a tighter debt-management plan to curb further borrowing.
Project costs
It also asks for a review of how ministries and agencies estimate project costs to make better use of public money. Recurring issues remain: the final account omits a balance sheet and a cashflow statement and attaches only a receipts-and-payments schedule. The committee recommends folding the revenues of entities exempt from remitting to the general account into the State’s consolidated final account.
Revenue
It notes that the National Audit Office audits revenue and spending chapters but not the annexes, which contain large sums, and that some entities keep breaching their approved limits each year with a rising total. The Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee, in a separate pair of reports, backs Decree-Law 8 on a set of justice-related treaties and Decree-Law 9 establishing the Bahrain International Commercial Court. The treaty package is described as the legal base for setting up the court and for it to exercise its powers. It is intended to bring common rules for exchanging evidence, support recognition of cross-border judgments and agreements, and give friendly settlements international effect.
Measures
The measures also set out a flexible appeal route with an international character for the court’s rulings. The committee says these steps aim to build user trust and strengthen Bahrain’s standing as a venue for international commercial dispute resolution.
Global standards
Decree-Law 9 creates a specialised, independent court run to global standards to handle cross-border commercial cases with speed and professionalism and to offer flexible options for parties.
Related Posts