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. -------------- (SBU) COMMENTS -------------- -- 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