Secured Transactions Law workshops held

In co-operation with the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), the Central Bank of Bahrain and The Judicial & Legal Studies Institute organised two specialised workshops on the Secured Transactions Law. The workshops aimed to provide in-depth awareness and understanding of the Secured Transactions Law, which is based on the legal model adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).

The event introduced participants to lending opportunities that may become available under the draft secured transactions law. It also shed light on the types of assets that can be taken as collateral, how to take security right and make it enforceable against third parties as well as the enforcement provisions within the law in the event of the debtor’s default.

A number of legal and other experts spoke at the workshops including David Carey, legal adviser at the US Department of Commerce and a specialist in commercial law development, Joseph U Schürer, lawyer at Kirkland & Ellis International, based in Chicago and Jae Sung Lee, a legal expert from UNCITRAL, the legal body of the UN system for international trade law.

This was in addition to Blake Candler, a legal expert on commercial law development (CLDP) at the US Department of Commerce and Dr Jameel Alalawi, Senior Legal Advisor at the EDB. Observers expect the law to positively impact the financial services sector in several ways. In particular, banks involved in the lending process and SMEs stand to benefit, as the law seeks to improve access to finance.