Arbitration claims worth $5.5m have been received in Q1 of this year by the GCC Commercial Arbitration Centre. The claims, comprising four disputes, are said to indicate growing trust of the instrument of dispute resolution.

According to a statement, the Bahrain-headquartered GCC Commercial Arbitration Centre was set-up in 1995 to provide companies in the Gulf region with a quick mechanism to resolve disputes transparently.

The Secretary General in charge Nasser Al Mogahwi said the arbitration centre was able to use its vast, cumulative experience to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic, so its services were not compromised.

Service continuity was accomplished using technology to enable most of the arbitration tasks and procedures including submitting arbitration requests, paying arbitration expenses, holding arbitration hearings, submitting documents and producing arbitral awards, Al Mogahwi explained.

The arbitral tribunal is said to have continued holding arbitration hearings comprising parties from outside Bahrain including the UAE and Saudi Arabia.