QNA
Doha
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ), represented by the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies (CLJS), on Tuesday held an extensive legal seminar on ‘Civil code in its second decade: Challenges of the present and hopes for the future’.
Minister of Justice and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs HE Ibrahim bin Ali Al Mohannadi attended the event. Also present were several well-versed legal experts, academics, and practitioners in this legislative affair.
HE Al Mohannadi underscored the importance of this seminar, which comes as an extension of the prudent vision of the Amir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the directives of Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani on advancing the legal system, alongside its capabilities in a manner commensurate with the current requirements.
His Excellency said that Law No. 22 of 2004 is one of the core pillars of the civil legislation in the State of Qatar. He affirmed that over two decades have passed since its issuance, during which the nation witnessed profound evolution on the technological and social stages, prompting an overall review of this law to ensure its continued relevance amid rapidly unfolding developments.
The MoJ is constantly working to review the legislative facets of the justice system as part of the national initiative to enhance the justice systems, with the objective of bolstering the trifecta of the principles of justice and the rule of law, streamlining civil transactions, and cultivating a legislative environment conducive to investment, HE Al Mohannadi highlighted.
For his part, Director of CLJS Dr. Abdullah Hamad Al Khaldi said that the Qatari civil code has been affected by the French one in terms of legislative structure. He highlighted that the French one has been subjected to crucial amendments in 2016, which entailed the regulation of the principle of good faith in negotiations, the reformulation of contract theory, replacing object and cause with substance of the contract.
This is in addition to promoting the duty of disclosure in contracts, something that prompts a thorough study into the viability of drawing inspiration from these legal evolutions within Qatar’s Civil Code, Al Khaldi noted.
He indicated that the seminar sessions have profoundly delved into the technological transformations, particularly in the domains of artificial intelligence, smart contracts, and blockchain, which impose novel legal challenges, triggering the reconsideration of numerous concepts of civil responsibility and contract regulation.
Al Khaldi stressed that numerous cases demonstrate that the Qatari Civil Code has been patently affected by Islamic Sharia, raising questions about the methods of utilizing the Sharia provisions as the key source of legislation based on the Constitution, thereby ensuring the alignment of legal provisions with Islamic values while keeping pace with the evolving dynamics of the modern era.
The seminar is bifurcated into two panel discussions: the first tackles the legislative evolution in the area of contract, with the second session deliberating on the issues facing civil responsibility in times of cutting-edge technology.
The panelists include several national and foreign experts, as well as legal professors.
