Qatar / Dispute Resolution
Hani Al Naddaf Partner, Head of Litigation - Qatar
Aiman Singh Kler Associate, Litigation
Recently on the 4th of April 2022 Qatar’s Law No. 21 of 2021 Establishing the Investment and Commerce Court (“the new law”) came into force. The new law establishes a specialised judicial system for commercial suits and lays out a specialised regime aimed to foster efficiency by setting out faster procedures for submissions, adjournments, appeal submissions, and issuance of judgments. The new law also establishes an electronic system for the Investment and Commerce Court (“I&C Court”) that digitalizes and further expedites the court process.
We set out a summary of the key provisions and also discuss the significance of the new law.
The I&C Court is comprised of two levels – the First Instance Circuit and the Appellate Circuit. Both Circuits consist of three judges that are to be nominated by the Supreme Judiciary Council. In accordance with Article 7 of the new law, the I&C Courts shall exercise their jurisdiction over a variety of disputes that are commercial in nature. Some of the key areas include:
disputes between partners or shareholders, or between any of them and the company, in commercial companies, including public shareholding companies whose shares are listed for trading;
disputes related to commercial assets;
disputes related to maritime sales;
disputes related to bank transactions, commercial papers, insurance companies, finance and investment companies;
disputes related to bankruptcy and composition;
disputes related to intellectual property rights;
disputes related to protecting competition, preventing monopolies and combating practices harmful to national products in international trade;
disputes related to electronic commerce and transactions;
disputes related to partnership contracts between public and private sectors (PPP contracts).
The I&C Court enjoys a wide jurisdiction over various disputes. In particular, it is worth noting that apart from disputes related to commercial contracts, disputes related to PPP contracts fall under the jurisdiction of the I& C Court. Qatar’s recently introduced Law no 12 of 2020 on the Regulation of Public Private Partnerships (PPP Law) and the establishment of the I&C court as the specialised jurisdiction for such disputes arising from PPP contracts is a significant step. Various FIFA World Cup 2022 stadia and other infrastructure projects under the umbrella of Qatar’s National Vision 2030 were tendered under the PPP law regime.
Article 9 lays down a procedure to designate judges that shall be competent to rule on urgent time sensitive matters and issue interim orders. The interim orders are appealable before the I&C Court and the decision of the latter shall be final.
A key ingredient in revolutionizing the court process by enabling greater efficiency is the establishment of an electronic system in the Court. In accordance with Article 13, such an electronic system shall facilitate registering lawsuits, requests for the issuance of Court Order Forms and Interim Orders, and other such requests on matters falling within the jurisdiction of the Court, including appeals.
In accordance with Article 16, a Case Management Office shall be established that would consist of a President amongst the I&C Court judges, along with sufficient member judges, assistant judges, along with legal and administrative personnel that would be selected by the President. Article 16 also enables the Case Management office to seek the assistance of experts and specialists, and various consultants for the performance of case management of the I&C Court.
Article 16 calls for a decision to be issued by the Supreme Judiciary Council to determine procedures and the working mechanism of the Case Management Office
Supplementing this pending decision, Article 17 lays out the broad functioning of the Case Management office to include e-fillings of the case, verification of the payment of fees, ensuring documents on the case file are complete with all necessary particulars, and managing the docket of the I&C Court.
The Case Management System is bound to play a critical role in the I&C Court’s daily functioning.
Article 19 mandates the Defendant to submit its Statement of Defence within thirty days of being served. The Statement of Defence shall include all aspects of defense, dilatory pleas and pleas-in-bar, cross and trial motions, and intervention and impleader, as the case may be.
The Plaintiff may reply to the Statement of Defence within fifteen days from the date of the service of the Defendant’s Statement of Defence. Thereafter the Defendant shall have the right to reply to the Plaintiff’s Reply within ten days of being electronically served (Article 20).
In all cases, the First Instance Circuit shall adjudicate the case within a period not exceeding 90 days from the date of referral (following the completion of the procedures in articles 17,19, and 20 discussed above), and the circuit may extend that period for a period of 45 days for serious reasons at its discretion.
Article 26 allows parties to the case to electronically submit an expert report before referring the case to the Court. It is further clarifies that the expert is not required to be registered in the expert list in accordance with the provisions of Law No. (16) of 2017 on the Regulation of Works of Experts.
Allowing party appointed experts is a significant departure from court appointed experts under the Qatari Civil Procedures Law and will allow parties involved in complex disputes to appoint specialized and experienced experts. However, this shall not preclude the court to appoint expert in the case.
The I&C Court presents a streamlined and efficient system for resolving disputes related to commercial contracts. Whilst, commercial arbitrations under Qatar’s Law No. 2 of 2017, the Civil and Commercial Arbitration Law is the preferable route for international parties seeking to resolve their disputes by arbitral tribunals, the I &C court may turn out to present a viable alternative to those parties seeking to resolve their disputes via an efficient and specialised judicial system.
For further information, please contact Hani Al Naddaf or Aiman Kler.
Published in July 2022
