Bahrain
Summary
Law: Law No. (30) of 2018 with Respect to Personal Data Protection Law ('the Law')
Regulator: Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs ('MoJ')
Summary: While the Law entered into force on 1 August 2019, certain existing provisions in Bahrain's legislation remain enforceable and govern data protection in specific sectors. For example, Labour Law 2012 covers data protection in the context of employer-employee relationships, and the Real Estate Regulatory Authority ('RERA') recently announced the adoption of a resolution on anti-money laundering in the context of real estate. Bahrain is also notable for its increasing regulation of its financial sector. The MoJ, however, still has a wide range of duties, including the authorisation of data transfers outside the Kingdom of Bahrain and the monitoring of compliance with the Law. The Law itself sets a relatively comprehensive basis for personal data protection, although certain matters, such as the appointment of data protection officers, have been left to the MoJ to regulate.