Previous Law – Civil and Commercial Procedures Law (Law No. 13 of 1990)

• Qatar’s Court of First Instance has ruled that arbitral awards must be issued in the name of the Emir of Qatar. The court ruled that this is because the Emir is the highest authority in the country, and judgments must be rendered in the name of the highest authority.
• If an award is not issued in the name of the Emir, it can be challenged in Qatari courts for violating public policy. The award would then be considered null and void.

 Qatari Arbitration Law (article 2.1)

• An application for annulment of an arbitral award must be commenced no later than 30 days after the award is rendered (article 33.4), upon the lapse of which period an application for enforcement can be submitted to the competent court (article 34.3).
• Parties can no longer challenge awards on the merits.
• Arbitral awards now have a res judicata effect (articles 33 and 34.1).
• Article 35 of the Qatari Arbitration Law provides an exhaustive list of the grounds on which Qatari courts may decline to enforce or recognise arbitral awards (irrespective of the place of issuance).

New Judicial Enforcement Law No. 4 of 2024 (the “Judicial Enforcement Law”)

• introduction of a fundamentally new structure, significantly differing from the system that has been in place for over three decades.
• the Enforcement Court will be presided over by a judge with a rank of at least “Deputy President of the Court of Appeal”.
•  In addition to the judicial body, the new law introduces the administrative framework for the Enforcement Court.
• Article 4 specifies the appointment of an administrative director, administrative staff, and a sufficient number of police officers and personnel to support the court’s functions.
• The new law also introduces new formalities for filing enforcement requests.
• Notably, the enforcement file has officially become electronic (Articles 29 and 30), starting with the registration of the request and payment of applicable fees, followed by verification and review of the required procedures and amounts.
• Additionally, the law requires specific information to be included in the enforcement request (Articles 30 and 31), expanding the powers of the enforcement judge and ensuring that all relevant parties are fully informed about the creditor, debtor, and the debt.
• The law also replaces the “chosen address” with the “national address,” reflecting a clear move towards digitisation of the entire system.
• New Instruments of enforcement – Furthermore, the new law designates lease agreements as enforcement instruments. Upon the expiration of a lease,

  property owners can initiate eviction procedures without resorting to filing a lawsuit, thereby protecting their rights.

   Arbitration Awards – The enforcement of the arbitral award may not be rejected regardless of the state in which it was issued, except in two cases – arbitrability and public policy.

  • In cases where an order rejecting the enforcement of the arbitral award is made, the new law allows parties to file a grievance against that order.

  Powers of the enforcement court to recover the debt

   The new law sets out the procedures which the enforcement court can order when executing a judgment debt. They include:

  • the attachment and sale of property;
  • reporting and subpoenaing;
  • preventing a party from conducting actions or benefiting from certain government services with respect to private companies and juristic persons;
  • banning any contracts to be concluded by the government entities with the party;
  • issuing a travel ban order against the debtor; and
  • imprisoning the debtor
  • The new law gives an enforcement judge the power to order the attachment of the moveable property of the debtor, whether in the debtor’s possession or in the possession of a third party.
  • debts that are currently due to the security provider;
  • bank accounts, including current and term deposit accounts.
  • commercial papers, certificates of deposits and financial contracts.
  • all types of machinery, devices, equipment, stock and inventory; and
  • intellectual property rights.
  • In addition to moveable assets, the new law also guides the enforcement of the order against various other types of assets including salaries and wages; sale of shares, bonds, revenues and stocks; and real estate.
  • There are also provisions covering the penalties for parties that breach the new law. Penalties are applicable to:

     👉 anyone who refuses to implement the orders of the court after receiving notice;