DOHA: Legal professionals, businessmen and investors are all praise for the initiative taken by the Ministry of Business and Trade to post a draft commercial companies’ law on its website for comments from the public.
The ministry inserted announcements in local Arabic dailies yesterday saying that it had posted the draft on its website (www.mbt.gov.qa) and invited government and non-government institutions, trade and industry, consultancy firms, investors as well as others to go through it and give suggestions.
“Please give your opinion in such a way that we are able to have a very good and practicable final draft commercial companies’ law,” the ministry said in its announcement.
The ministry said inputs should be provided in such a way that the proposed law is effective in simplifying licensing procedures for companies making their work easier and creating a very conducive business environment in the country.
Contacted for comment, legal luminary Dr Hassan Al Sayed described the ministry’s move as historic and said this is the first time such a step has been taken by a ministry.
“It’s a very good initiative. In the past, draft laws were circulated to specific groups of people who were directly concerned with such legislations,” said Al Sayed.
Citing examples, he said the draft of the legislation regulating the legal profession was handed to the lawyers’ association instead of specific people in the association.
Likewise, a draft media law was circulated among the editors of local Arabic dailies and referred to the Advisory Council. This is the first time that a draft law as crucial as this one concerning commercial companies has been put forward for public review and opinion.
According to Al Sayed, seeking direct inputs from the public and trade and industry held the key to making the law practicable because there are just two advisory bodies in the country, so public review of a draft law assumes much significance.
An investor, Ibrahim Ali, lauded the ministry’s move and said that seeking inputs from the public to improve the draft was a very prudent step. Companies should particularly be able to provide valuable inputs because they deal with commercial companies’ law on almost a daily basis and know its strengths as well as weaknesses.
Both Al Sayed and Ali said that other ministries and government agencies should emulate the example of the ministry and invite comments and inputs from the people at large when they prepare drafts of legislations.
The Peninsula
