*** Debate to raise witness evidence limit to BD1,000 | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Debate to raise witness evidence limit to BD1,000

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Shura Council members will revisit on Sunday a draft change to Bahrain’s evidence law that would double the limit for using witness testimony in civil cases from BD500 to BD1,000.

The proposal would amend Decree-Law No. 14 of 1996 on evidence in civil and commercial matters by amending Articles 61 and 62.

Under the revised articles, and outside commercial matters, a transaction, or its settlement, could be proved through witness testimony up to the higher figure.

Threshold

A report by the Shura Council’s Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee backs the change and says the current 500-dinar limit has, in recent years, left parties in lower-value claims unable to rely on witnesses when the amount is above the threshold but still falls short of what many now see in everyday transactions.

The committee notes that written proof remains the main method for proving obligations, while the law also allows other methods, including witness testimony, presumptions and admissions, under specified conditions.