Competition Law In The Kingdom Of Bahrain

As part of Kingdom of Bahrain's (Bahrain) package of laws designed to further boost its economic diversification and liberalization, the Bahrain government issued Law No. 31 of 2018 with respect to the Competition Promotion and Protection (the Law). The Law came enter into force on 1 January 2019 and is expected to have broad repercussions on the way businesses carry out their operations in the country. Below we highlight some of the main features of the law.

While Bahrain has never had a standalone competition law to date, it is important to note that certain key concepts related to competition law are embedded in a number of laws already in force in the country, such as the Commercial Code, Civil Code and Consumer Protection Law. However, due to Bahrain's determination to foster its regulatory framework in accordance with international legislative developments, the Law has been created based on a wide range of international sources.

The Law focuses on regulating the following core issues:

anti-competitive arrangements; abuse of dominant position; and economic concentration. The Consumer Protection Directorate at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism (MOICT) has been appointed temporarily as the authority (the Authority) to govern and enforce the Law, pending the financial allocation of the Authority in the general budget of Bahrain and the issuance of a decree forming the Board of Directors. The Undersecretary of the MOICT will assume the functions and powers prescribed to Board of Directors of the Authority and the Chairman of Board of Directors, in accordance with the provisions of the Law. The Director of the Authority will assume the same functions and powers as the Executive Chairman of the Authority.

The powers and duties of the Authority include:

monitoring compliance with the Law; receiving and investigating complaints concerning the possible violations of the Law; and investigating any possible violation discovered by the Authority or where requested to do so by the Minister. Application

The Law applies to:

all businesses carrying out economic activities inside Bahrain; any conduct or arrangement which is intended to or results in the hindering of competition in Bahrain, even if one or more of the parties involved is not incorporated in Bahrain; and economic activities conducted outside Bahrain, which affect competition inside the country. However, the Law sets out clearly that it will not apply in relation to:

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