Qatar Lawyers

Welcome to Qatar Lawyers, the one stop site for information about Qatar Lawyers, where to find one and if you need one. We also provide local knowledge of the law and practises and how to find a lawyer in Qatar.

Qatar Lawyer information

Hiring a lawyer in Qatar

In many countries, lawyers and attorneys from specialized practice areas are assigned a relevant case so that they can handle it a professional sense. In countries like Qatar, there is no compulsion that a lawyer should handle your case or represent you in court. With the permission of the court, it is possible to act for yourself. However, since legal proceedings take place in Arabic it is best to hire a translator. Despite the consent to resist the help from a professional lawyer, it is best to hire one, since he is best suited to detangle the complexities of the case.

Qatar Lawyers Association was appointed in 2007 with an elected board of directors. However, until this date, the Ministry of Justice regulates the access of lawyers to the legal profession. Qatar nationals with more than two years of experience and education from a reputed university are listed as practitioners while those with less than two years of experience are listed as trainees.

Foreign law firms upon special application are allowed to practice in Qatar, depending on their international experience. They are granted a license in specific areas of practice, renewable after every five years.

Liberalization of Qatari Law

Compared to other Gulf countries, Qatar is liberal with rules and guidelines concerning law. Yet, when it comes to its neighbors like Bahrain and UAE, the country restrains from liberalizing itself completely.

Although Qatar is a civil law jurisdiction, the Sharia law judges family matters, inheritance lawsuits and criminal cases. On the other hand, Qatar allows women to drive whereas Saudi Arabia bans women from doing so. This changing scenario justifies Qatar.s role in enhancing the quality of human rights and gender equality imposed by HRA.

After the current Emir, Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani assumed the role of monarchy in 1995; Qatar went under a rapid transformation of advancement, especially in regards to women. They got an equitable right to vote and hold senior government positions. Before Qatar.s societal emancipation got a 360° turnover, there were many restrictions forced on the citizens such as non-allowance for men to wear shorts in public.

However, the liberalization thought process and the subsequent change in laws has changed much in Qatar including permit to nightclubs and bars, though only in star rated hotels & resorts.

Even Non-Muslim expatriates are allowed to buy alcohol for their personal use albeit only from Qatar Distribution Company; the only liquor distributor in the country. The 15th Asian Games have further pressurized the country to think more broad-mindedly about its laws, but it is limiting from going all the way like Bahrain or UAE.

Qatar follows quite a few restrictive laws that are subject to scrutiny. The Kafeel or Kafala sponsorship law doesn.t allow an expat to enter or exit the country without the consent of his employer. Compared to modern-day slavery, employers also have the right to ban employees from entering the country or refuse transfer of the employee to another employer. However, where special sponsorship is concerned, Qatar Financial Centre has relaxed these rules by allowing transfers of employees.

Judicial System in Qatar

The Judicial System in Qatar has undergone dramatic changes in recent times, especially the amendments to the law in 2003. Prior to the effect of the law, Qatari court structure comprised of dual legal system wherein Sharia and Civil Courts co-existed independent of each other. However, the publication of the Official Gazette in 2003 unified both these systems to form a single judicial structure.

Judicial Structure

Presently, the judicial system in Qatar is made up of three layers where the Courts of Justice and the Sharia Courts of First Instance take up the base of the pyramid. While the Courts of Justice are engaged in hearings relating to commercial and civil matters, the Sharia Courts concentrate on personal relationships. Both the petitioner and the defending parties can reject decisions by these courts and subsequently appeal in the Appeal Court of Justice and the Sharia Court of Appeal. These courts constitute the middle of the pyramid. Last and the most important is the Court of Cassation, which is the court of final appeal for all lawsuits. Qatar also has a separate .Family Court. to settle family and inheritance disputes that is based on the .Family Law. proclaimed by Emir Sheikh Hamad Ben Khalifa Al-Thani in 2007.