QATAR TAKES IMPORTANT STEP TOWARD DEVELOPMENT OF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 000733

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KMPI INRB QA
SUBJECT: QATAR TAKES IMPORTANT STEP TOWARD DEVELOPMENT OF
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

-- Qatar's Amir signed a decree over the summer establishing
a Supreme Constitutional Court which will have jurisdiction
over all matters arising from disputes over the
constitutionality of Qatari laws.

-- The court will also settle all disputes over the
jurisdictions of the various courts, resolve all conflicts
between the judgments of lower courts, and interpret statutes
upon the request of the Prime Minister or Chairman of the
Advisory Council. The new court will consist of a Chief
Judge and six other judges, all appointed by Amiri decree.

-- The Amir named Mubarak Al Asiri as the Court's first
Chief Judge. Al-Asiri, considered tough minded and
independent, has extensive experience in the Qatari
judiciary, serving most recently as the head of the special
committee within the Cassation Court which heard
constitutional matters.

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(SBU) COMMENTS
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-- The establishment of the Constitutional Court is an
important step in the creation of a system of constitutional
jurisprudence in Qatar and should elevate the Constitution
itself as an instrument which defines and protects the rights
of Qataris.

-- The court has the potential to strengthen rule of law in
Qatar. But because the Chief Judge is appointed by the Amir
and the court is dependent on the Amir for funding, its
ultimate independence depends on the Amir's willingness to
accept the court's rulings, and the court's deftness in
dealing with cases that may appear to challenge the Amir's
perogatives.

END KEY POINTS AND COMMENTS


1. (U) On June 18, Amir Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani signed a
decree creating the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC).
Before the decree, a special committee of judges within the
Cassation Court considered constitutional issues. The
Cassation Court will continue to wield great power within the
Qatari judiciary, since few matters will likely be appealed
to the SCC, but it will cease to be the final judicial
arbiter in Qatar.


2. (U) The SCC will have sweeping powers, including exclusive
jurisdiction over constitutional questions. If a court or
other judicial body, in the course of its review, believes
that the constitutionality of a law must be reviewed in order
to settle the case, the decree requires that the lower court
immediately halt its deliberations and refer the matter to
the SCC for decision. Similiarly, a litigant in a case
before a lower court under the new system may question the
constitutionality of a statute and initiate an interlocutory
appeal to the SCC.


3. (U) The SCC will also settle disputes over the
jurisdiction of various Qatari courts. If the parties to a
dispute are in disagreement as to which court has
jurisdiction over the case, one or both may appeal to the SCC
for a ruling. When such an appeal is taken, all action on
the case must stop until the SCC issues its decision.


4. (U) The SCC will settle all conflicts arising from the
rulings of the lower courts, per the new decree. In the
event that two or more lower courts have issued contradictory
rulings on a single point of law, the SCC must decide which
interpretation is controlling. In addition, the decree
creating the SCC and defining its jurisdiction gives it great
potential power over the interpretation of statutes. If the
Prime Minister or the Chairman of the Advisory Council finds
that a statute requires interpretation in order to be
properly implemented, either authority can petition the SCC
for a ruling.


5. (SBU) In the decree creating the Supreme Constitutional
Court, the Amir named Mubarak Bin Khalifa Al Asiri as its
first Chief Judge. Al Asiri is a member of a prominent
Qatari family and a career jurist who first served on the
bench as a judge in the Minor Criminal Court at the age of

26. Since that time, he has scaled the ladder of the Qatari
judicial system, serving as an appellate court judge, and
most recently, as the chairman of the special committee
within the Court of Cassation that considered constitutional
matters.


6. (SBU) Former Qatari Justice Minister Dr. Naguib Al Naeimi
told Poloff in August that Al Asiri is an extremely capable
judge who can be tough-minded and independent. However, he

DOHA 00000733 002 OF 002


pointed out that under the Amiri decree the members of the
SCC are appointed by the Amir and subject to removal by him.
The Court depends upon the Amir for funding. Consequently,
the SCC is not an independent body. Nevertheless, Qatar has
taken a first and important step, in Naeimi's view, toward
the development of an "authoritative tradition of
constitutional jurisprudence." According to Naeimi, Al Asiri
has both the personality and the legal ability to elevate the
Court to a position of prestige and power in Qatar. In the
process, he predicts, the Constitution itself as an
instrument which defines and protects the rights of Qataris
will also be elevated.




LeBaron