Bahrain Lawyer Registration Exam study materials
Bahrain Lawyer Registration Exam study resources

Bahrain Lawyer Registration Exam key terms

Bahrain Lawyer Registration Exam · Get comfortable with the vocabulary.

Offer (Ijab)

A definite proposal by one party to another setting out the essential terms of a contract, made with the intention of creating a binding relationship if the other party accepts it.

Related: Acceptance (Qabul), Consent (Rida)
Acceptance (Qabul)

The unqualified agreement by the offeree to every term of the offer, communicated to the offeror within the period allowed, which brings the contract into existence.

Related: Offer (Ijab), Contract Formation
Consent (Rida)

The free and informed will of a party to enter a transaction, which is vitiated where it results from mistake, fraud, duress, or exploitation of weakness, allowing rescission.

Related: Offer (Ijab), Defect of Consent
Defect of Consent

A flaw in the will behind an agreement, such as error, fraud, violence, or undue influence, that undermines the validity of the transaction and may ground an action to annul it.

Related: Consent (Rida), Rescission
Rescission

The judicial or agreed unwinding of a contract, returning the parties to their prior positions and extinguishing obligations arising from it, often available where consent was defective or performance impossible.

Related: Defect of Consent, Specific Performance
Specific Performance

A court order compelling a defaulting party to carry out its promised obligation in kind rather than pay damages, granted where performance remains possible and damages would be inadequate.

Related: Damages, Rescission
Damages

Monetary compensation awarded to a party for loss caused by another's breach or wrongful act, assessed to restore the claimant to the position it would have occupied had the wrong not occurred.

Related: Specific Performance, Causation
Causation

The link between a party's act or omission and the loss suffered, requiring the harm to flow directly from the wrong without an intervening event that breaks the chain.

Related: Damages, Foreseeability
Foreseeability

The test limiting recoverable loss to harm that a reasonable person in the wrongdoer's position would have anticipated at the time of the act or contract.

Related: Causation, Damages
Commercial Registration

The official entry of a trader or company in the commercial register kept by the competent ministry, a precondition for lawful trading and for asserting commercial status against third parties.

Related: Trader, Commercial Company
Trader

A person who carries on commercial activities in their own name, habitually and for profit, and who thereby becomes subject to the commercial obligations, books, and insolvency rules.

Related: Commercial Registration, Commercial Acts
Commercial Acts

Transactions classified as commercial by law, whether by nature such as sale for resale or by the trader's form, which attract commercial law and jurisdiction rather than ordinary civil rules.

Related: Trader, Commercial Company
Commercial Company

An entity formed by two or more persons contributing capital or services to pursue profit and share results, taking one of the statutory forms such as joint stock or limited liability.

Related: Commercial Registration, Limited Liability Company
Limited Liability Company

A company whose capital is divided into shares and whose members are liable for its debts only up to the value of their contributions, unless the corporate veil is pierced.

Related: Commercial Company, Piercing the Corporate Veil
Piercing the Corporate Veil

The doctrine allowing courts to disregard a company's separate personality and hold members or managers personally liable where the entity was used to commit fraud or conceal wrongdoing.

Related: Limited Liability Company, Legal Personality
Legal Personality

The capacity of an entity to hold rights, incur obligations, own property, and sue or be sued in its own name, distinct from the persons who formed or control it.

Related: Piercing the Corporate Veil, Commercial Company
Actus Reus

The external physical element of an offence, comprising the prohibited conduct, any required circumstances, and any resulting consequence attributed to the accused.

Related: Mens Rea, Criminal Liability
Mens Rea

The mental element of an offence, such as intention or negligence, which must accompany the prohibited conduct before a person can be convicted of the crime.

Related: Actus Reus, Criminal Liability
Criminal Liability

The condition of being legally answerable for an offence, established when the prohibited act, the required mental state, and the absence of a defence are all proved.

Related: Actus Reus, Mens Rea
Presumption of Innocence

The principle that an accused is treated as innocent until guilt is proven to the required standard by the prosecution, which bears the burden of establishing the charge.

Related: Burden of Proof, Criminal Liability
Burden of Proof

The obligation of a party to persuade the court of a fact's existence, which in criminal matters rests on the prosecution and in civil matters on the party asserting the claim.

Related: Presumption of Innocence, Standard of Proof
Standard of Proof

The degree of certainty a party must reach to discharge its burden, being proof beyond reasonable doubt in criminal cases and a preponderance of evidence in civil cases.

Related: Burden of Proof, Evidence
Evidence

The material, whether testimony, documents, or things, presented to the court to establish or disprove facts in issue, admissible only if relevant and lawfully obtained.

Related: Standard of Proof, Admissibility
Admissibility

The quality of being receivable by a court, determined by relevance, reliability, and compliance with legal rules on how the material was obtained or produced.

Related: Evidence, Burden of Proof
Jurisdiction

The authority of a particular court to hear and decide a dispute, determined by subject matter, value, location, and the connection of the parties to the forum.

Related: Competence, Service of Process
Service of Process

The formal delivery of legal papers to a party in the manner the law requires, which informs them of proceedings and starts time limits for responding.

Related: Jurisdiction, Default Judgment
Default Judgment

A ruling entered in favour of the claimant when the defendant fails to appear or respond within the prescribed period, subject to the defendant's right to challenge it.

Related: Service of Process, Jurisdiction
Probation Period

A statutory initial period of employment during which the employer may terminate without notice or end-of-service entitlement, provided the worker is not retained beyond the maximum allowed.

Related: End-of-Service Benefit, Unfair Dismissal
End-of-Service Benefit

The gratuity payable to a worker on termination, calculated on the basis of final wage and length of service according to the statutory formula.

Related: Probation Period, Unfair Dismissal
Unfair Dismissal

Termination by an employer for a reason other than those permitted by law, or without proper procedure, entitling the worker to compensation or reinstatement.

Related: Probation Period, End-of-Service Benefit
Mahr

The bridal dower that a husband undertakes to give his wife under the marriage contract, which becomes her property and is a legal consequence of the marriage.

Related: Khul, Divorce (Talaq)
Khul

A dissolution of marriage initiated by the wife, who offers to return her dower or give other consideration in exchange for the husband's agreement or a court order freeing her.

Related: Mahr, Divorce (Talaq)
Divorce (Talaq)

The unilateral repudiation of a marriage by the husband, subject to formalities, registration, and revocation rules, with financial consequences such as the waiting period and maintenance.

Related: Mahr, Khul
Iddah

The waiting period a woman must observe after dissolution of the marriage or the husband's death, during which remarriage is barred and certain rights and maintenance continue.

Related: Divorce (Talaq), Khul
Land Registration

The systematic recording of title to land and rights over it in the official register, giving public notice and protecting registered interests against later unregistered claims.

Related: Title Deed, Indefeasibility
Title Deed

The official instrument evidencing ownership of a registered plot, identifying the owner, the land, and any encumbrances noted in the register.

Related: Land Registration, Mortgage
Indefeasibility

The principle that a registered title cannot be challenged by later unregistered interests or by earlier claims that were not recorded, subject to limited statutory exceptions.

Related: Land Registration, Title Deed
Mortgage

A security interest over immovable property granted to secure a debt, entitling the creditor to enforce against the property if the debtor defaults, subject to registration.

Related: Title Deed, Land Registration
Legality

The constitutional principle that public authorities may act only where the law authorises them, and that administrative decisions must be founded on a valid legal basis.

Related: Judicial Review, Ultra Vires
Ultra Vires

The doctrine that an act of a public authority beyond the powers granted by law is invalid, a ground on which courts may annul the decision.

Related: Legality, Judicial Review
Judicial Review

The court's power to examine the lawfulness of administrative decisions and annul those that are unlawful, procedurally improper, or made in abuse of discretion.

Related: Legality, Ultra Vires
Conflict of Interest

A situation where a lawyer's personal, financial, or other interest, or a duty to another client, could compromise the independent judgment owed to a client, requiring disclosure or withdrawal.

Related: Client Confidentiality, Duty of Loyalty
Client Confidentiality

The lawyer's duty to keep information learned in the professional relationship secret, continuing after the engagement ends, subject only to narrow exceptions permitted by law.

Related: Conflict of Interest, Legal Privilege
Legal Privilege

The protection that shields confidential communications between lawyer and client from disclosure in legal proceedings, belonging to the client and waivable only by the client.

Related: Client Confidentiality, Conflict of Interest
Duty of Loyalty

The obligation of a lawyer to act solely in the client's best interests, avoiding conflicting engagements and personal dealings that could harm the client.

Related: Conflict of Interest, Client Confidentiality
Advocacy

The professional activity of representing a client before courts and tribunals, presenting evidence and argument within the limits of the law and professional rules.

Related: Duty of Loyalty, Legal Privilege
Treaty

A written agreement between states governed by international law, which creates binding obligations and may require domestic implementation before it affects private rights.

Related: Customary International Law, Ratification
Customary International Law

Rules formed by consistent state practice accepted as legally required, binding states generally without the need for a treaty, subject to persistent objection.

Related: Treaty, Ratification
Ratification

The formal act by which a state confirms its consent to be bound by a treaty it has signed, after which the treaty enters into force for that state.

Related: Treaty, Customary International Law
Ratio Decidendi

The legal reasoning essential to a court's decision, which binds lower courts as precedent, as distinct from observations that are merely incidental.

Related: Obiter Dictum, Precedent
Obiter Dictum

A remark by a judge on a point not necessary to the decision, which is persuasive only and does not create a binding rule for later cases.

Related: Ratio Decidendi, Precedent
Precedent

The principle that earlier decisions of higher courts should guide later cases with materially similar facts, promoting consistency and predictability in the law.

Related: Ratio Decidendi, Obiter Dictum
Competence

The legal authority of a body or official to act within a defined field, and an essential element of a valid administrative decision or court ruling.

Related: Jurisdiction, Ultra Vires