Director of Legal Affairs at MoCI Hilal Al Khulaifi (second left) with other panellists during the 7th Qatar Business Law Forum Conference 2022.
Doha: Qatari courts are keeping pace with the changes in the global commercial arena and have been using digital transformation which has put Qatar on the global map for automation of the judiciary systems, as the country now has a strong IT infrastructure including legislations in the IT sector, experts have said during a panel discussion at the 7th Qatar Business Law Forum Conference 2022 held here recently.
The forum, which was hosted by LexisNexis Middle East in partnership with Qatar International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration (QICCA) and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), covered the latest legal developments and trends in Qatar.
Hilal Al Khulaifi, Director of Legal Affairs at MoCI said: “The Qatari legislator was keen to issue new laws and keep up with the developments taking place in Qatar, which helps in preserving the rights of both the business owner and the beneficiary or the customer. Among the laws issued was Law No. 11 of 2021 regarding the protection of trademarks, copyrights, and related rights of the International Football Association (FIFA). The Law stipulates special procedures for registering FIFA trademarks, which preserve the copyright and related rights”.
Speaking during the panel discussion entitled ‘What’s in the Pipeline for Business Law in Qatar’, Al Khulaifi discussed about the upcoming laws in future and some of the legislations that are being studied. He added: “We have a very important project right now that has been finalised and we are waiting to hear from the Supreme Judiciary Council. We are talking about anti-bankruptcy law, and it is going to be independent and first of its kind. It has been drafted to follow up on the latest economic developments on the business environment criteria in line with the World Bank. So, an independent commercial bankruptcy law was allocated as required by the commercial law”.
Al Khulaifi further stated: “We have a very important and key project that is currently being studied and examined which is the anti-commercial concealment for non-Qataris. This law aims at combatting commercial concealment and the Cabinet of ministers have approved that and it has been submitted to the Shura Council many months ago. We also have another project for commercial franchise; we currently do not have such a law. We are talking about contracts that are not registered with MoCI as per law no. 2 of 2002,” he added.
Dr. Zain Al Abdin Sharar, Senior Legal Counsel at QICDRC reiterated that the commercial court has the jurisdiction to hear and decide all commercial matters including disputes between traders or merchants, commercial contracts, banking and finance, bankruptcy, e-commerce, public-private partnerships, commercial properties, shareholders and public companies. He also shed lighton the recent developments in Qatar international courts jurisdictions over cases.
Speaking about Qatar’s approach in raising digital judiciary, e-governance and online court, Amr Hossam, Legal Consultant and Head of Arbitration Department at Al Sulaiti Law Firm said: “Qatar has a strong IT infrastructure including legislations in the IT system. The direction of digital transformation was successfully adopted using the latest technology to enhance the capabilities of the government to make strong communication between various segments including the courts and to initiate the online courts in litigation sector”.
He added that Qatar is now on the global map on the automation of the judiciary systems in infrastructure including the cyber-crimes, e-commerce, and the transactions with technology.
“Digital transformation for the courts actually started by initiating the e-services portal in 2020 during the pandemic by converting to electronic system. This has led to promoting better schedules, digital filing, increased access to court from anywhere, e-payment, e-filing, visual hearing, and reduced cost for the law firms,” he added.
Regarding rules on corporate governance, Hossam said: “Governance is very important for companies and establishments especially for small and medium sized organisations. I am seeing a lot of improvements in laws relating to governance and in this year, we have seen a lot of companies and family businesses in the market pulling to this and trying for IPO transactions”.
Elias Matni, Special Counsel at K&L Gates highlighted the investment climate from a legislative and practical view. “Foreign investors have a lot of choices. The Ministry has been doing lots of efforts to ease business in Qatar like creating the single window and it is always enhancing by the years. I am interested to see the phase of new laws that will enhance it more, such as the bankruptcy law which is important,” he said.
Also speaking during the forum, Khaled Algarle, Chief Legal Counsel at QICCA discussed about the changes in QICCA rules and how they affect the efficiency and time of the proceedings, as well as the role of QICCA in the development of the arbitration industry in Qatar. Algarle said the modifications in arbitration rules have led to the speeding up in the ruling of the cases.
