Family
A unified family law covering both Sunni and Shia Bahrainis
Law 19 of 2017 unified personal status into a single code applying to both Sunni and Shia Muslims, replacing separate uncodified religious practice.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Sharia courts with Sunni and Ja'fari chambers, both now applying the unified code.
- Deadline — 45 days to appeal a family judgment
Governing law
- Unified Family Law, Law 19 of 2017
- Decree-Law 26 of 1986 on sharia courts
In practice
The 2017 unification was hard-won and significant: family law had previously been applied by Sunni and Ja'fari judges from their respective uncodified fiqh, producing inconsistent outcomes and no reliable way for a litigant to know the applicable rule. The unified code sets marriage age at sixteen for both sexes, requires registration, and codifies maintenance and custody. The Sunni and Ja'fari chambers remain, but both now apply the same enacted text, which makes Bahrain the Gulf state that went furthest toward a single family law. Inheritance still follows the parties' school.