Terms of Service

Eligibility

You must be a duly incorporated legal entity or an authorised representative thereof, aged 18 or over, operating in compliance with applicable laws. Individuals acting in a personal capacity are not eligible for membership.

Registration

Membership requires completion of our Know Your Business (KYB) verification process, including submission of corporate documentation, UBO declarations, and AML screening. We reserve the right to refuse or revoke membership at our sole discretion.

Account Security

You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials. You must immediately notify us of any unauthorised access. We are not liable for losses resulting from compromised credentials.

Participant Types

Members are classified as Institutional Traders, Mandated Intermediaries, Strategic Service Partners, or Institutional Advisors. Your participant type determines your access rights and obligations within the platform.

Service Scope

Sovereign Nexus provides a digital infrastructure for institutional commodity trade facilitation, dispute resolution, logistics coordination, trade finance partner matching, and related professional services. We are a platform operator, not a party to any transaction between members and partners.

No Guarantee of Results

We do not guarantee the outcome of any trade, arbitration, service engagement, or AI-generated recommendation. All commercial decisions remain the sole responsibility of the parties involved.

AI Advisory Features

AI-powered recommendations within the platform are provided for informational purposes only. They do not constitute financial, legal, or professional advice. AI outputs should be independently verified before reliance.

Service Availability

We strive for 99.5% uptime but do not guarantee uninterrupted access. Scheduled maintenance will be communicated in advance where practicable.

Subscription Fees

Access to Sovereign Nexus is subject to monthly subscription fees based on your membership tier (Sentinel, Envoy, Sovereign). Fees are charged in advance on a monthly basis.

Founding Member Status

Founding Members receive complimentary platform access for 12 months from the date of their activation, after which standard tier pricing applies. Founding Member status and associated benefits are non-transferable.

Partner Tier Fees

Service partner organisations listed in the directory are subject to partner tier listing fees (Standard: complimentary; Verified: charged monthly; Sovereign Partner: charged monthly). Fees are displayed in the partner billing portal.

Payment Terms

All fees are due on the billing date. Failed payments result in a 7-day grace period before service suspension. We accept payment via credit/debit card through our Stripe-powered billing system.

Refund Policy

Subscription fees are non-refundable except where required by applicable law. If we terminate your account without cause, we will provide a pro-rata refund of unused prepaid fees.

Price Changes

We reserve the right to modify pricing with 30 days' written notice. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the new pricing.

Prohibited Activities

You may not use the platform to: (i) facilitate transactions involving sanctioned parties, countries, or goods; (ii) engage in money laundering, terrorist financing, or other financial crimes; (iii) misrepresent your identity, credentials, or the nature of any transaction; (iv) circumvent our KYC/KYB verification processes; (v) transmit malware, spam, or engage in any activity that disrupts platform operations.

Compliance Obligations

Members are solely responsible for ensuring their activities on the platform comply with all applicable laws, including export controls, trade sanctions, AML/CTF regulations, and sector-specific regulations in their jurisdiction.

Accurate Information

You represent and warrant that all information provided to us is accurate, current, and complete. Providing false or misleading information is grounds for immediate termination.

Dispute Resolution Council

The Sovereign Nexus Dispute Resolution Council (SMCN DRC) provides institutional arbitration services for disputes between platform members. The SMCN Arbitration Rules 2024 govern all proceedings.

Arbitrator Independence

Appointed arbitrators are independent professionals. Their awards are submitted for review by the Council before communication to parties. The Council may accept, return for revision, or escalate awards.

Finality

Accepted arbitral awards are final and binding on the parties. Enforcement is subject to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, to which Bahrain is a signatory.

Seat of Arbitration

The seat of all SMCN DRC arbitrations is Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, unless otherwise agreed by the parties in writing.

Platform Ownership

All intellectual property rights in the Sovereign Nexus platform, including software, designs, trademarks, and content created by us, are and remain the exclusive property of The Trade Council.

Member Content

You retain ownership of content you upload to the platform. By uploading, you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use, store, and process such content solely for the purpose of providing our services.

Restrictions

You may not copy, modify, reverse engineer, decompile, or create derivative works of the platform or any part thereof without our express written consent.

Platform Confidentiality

All information exchanged between members within deal rooms, arbitration proceedings, and service engagements is confidential. Members must not disclose such information to third parties without prior written consent.

Survival

Confidentiality obligations survive termination of membership for a period of 5 years.

Exclusions

To the maximum extent permitted by law, we exclude all liability for: (i) indirect, consequential, or incidental losses; (ii) loss of profit, revenue, or business; (iii) losses arising from third-party services or AI-generated content; (iv) losses resulting from member-to-member transactions.

Cap on Liability

Our total aggregate liability to you for any claim arising under or in connection with these Terms shall not exceed the total fees paid by you to us in the 3 months preceding the claim.

Force Majeure

We are not liable for failures or delays in performance resulting from circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including acts of God, government actions, sanctions, or infrastructure failures.

By You

You may terminate your membership at any time by providing 30 days' written notice. Termination does not entitle you to a refund of prepaid fees.

By Us

We may suspend or terminate your account immediately and without notice for: material breach of these Terms; non-payment; AML/compliance violations; or where required by law.

Effect of Termination

Upon termination, your access to the platform ceases immediately. Provisions that by their nature survive termination (including confidentiality, IP rights, and liability limitations) continue in force.

Governing Law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Dispute Resolution

Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall first be subject to good-faith negotiation. If unresolved within 30 days, disputes shall be referred to the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution (BCDR) for final and binding arbitration.

Language

These Terms are executed in the English language. In the event of any translation, the English version shall prevail.

Legal Notices

All legal notices must be sent in writing to: legal@thetradecouncil.global

General Enquiries

For general questions about these Terms, contact us at: info@thetradecouncil.global