DOHA: Qatari lawyers are opposed to a proposal to allow legal officers in a company’s employment to represent it in court in a dispute or in any other matter.
Extending that privilege to legal officers of companies would not only eat into the practice of a Qatari lawyer but also spoil the legal profession in the country, lawyers have said.
Qatari Lawyers’ Association held an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss a draft law that seeks to regulate the legal profession locally.
The draft talks of giving back the right to legal officers in the employ of companies to represent them in court in litigations or in any other issues.
Local Arabic daily Al Raya reported that until 20 years ago legal officers of companies had the right to represent their employers in court cases or in other court matters.
Amendments being proposed (via a draft law) to the existing legislation that regulates the legal profession in Qatar talk of giving that right back to legal officers.
The amendments were discussed by the Qatari lawyers at their emergency meeting. The lawyers want many changes to the clauses of the draft law.
For example, they want the commission in a claims amount they make a client recover in an inheritance or any other case to be 20 percent instead of a recommended 10.
The meeting proposed that the lawyers’ registration committee at the Ministry of Justice have more members from among the lawyers.
The committee presently has nine members, three of whom are from among the practicing lawyers, and the remaining six (three each) from the ministry itself and from the Supreme Judicial Council.
The lawyers have also demanded that separate rules be framed for international law firms and they be barred from taking up all international and local cases.
International firms should train at least one Qatari lawyer to help him gain experience, the meeting demanded.
It set up a nine-member committee of member-lawyers to put forth these demands to the justice ministry and follow up on the issue.
The Peninsula
