The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies’ Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies Unit hosted Mohammed Hassan Al-Kaabi, Assistant Professor of Civil Law, as part of its monthly lecture programme. The lecture, titled “The History and Future of Law in Qatar: An Economic Approach”, moderated by researcher Abdulrahman Albaker, was held on Monday, 20 November 2023, at the Arab Center.

Al-Kaabi began noting that law is a cultural product ­­­­– a society’s legal system is influenced and shaped by its cultural standards, traditions, and historical context. In turn, law can also shape cultural behaviour, societal norms, and practices. The relationship between law and culture is mutually influential and thus, law affects culture, meaning in the hands of the legislator it may be a vehicle to change culture.

Al-Kaabi then presented an overview of the basic legal systems in the world: the Anglo-Saxon system, the Islamic legal system, the civil legal system, and the mixed legal system. In Qatar, Al-Kaabi reviewed the development of its legal system over the years. He contends that the history of law in Qatar begins in 1868, when Sheikh Mohammed bin Thani (1788-1878) signed an agreement with the British Political Resident in the Gulf, Colonel Lewis Pelly (1825-1892), which represented the first international recognition of Qatar’s independence. This agreement created the political entity, necessitating the emergence of law. In that period, the judiciary was dual: legitimate; a judiciary confronted an economic activity based on pearls, so the “Salfa” court, or customary judiciary, followed suit. That period saw the emergence of a two-pronged judiciary: one based on the Islamic Sharia and the “Al-Salfa judiciary” based on customary law related to the pearl-diving industry.

In 1913, Britain persuaded the Ottoman Empire to withdraw its garrison from Qatar and abandon any claim of sovereignty over the territory of Qatar. Treaty negotiations began with the Sheikh of Qatar, Abdullah bin Qasim Al Thani (1880-1957) in 1915. The Sheikh objected to some provisions, which were then postponed, such as that British nationals and nationals of foreign, non-Islamic countries should have their own judicial system, which was implemented as of 1935. The affairs of these nationals were instead handled by a British court. Thus, from 1868-1935, when the pearl diving pearl trade flourished, the Salfa and Sharia judiciaries worked in conjunction.

As the pearl diving trade became less prominent, along with the Salfa judiciary, and oil export gradually became the dominant industry, the British administration undertook a greater role (1949-1960). From 1961, new written laws and courts began to appear, paving the way for independence. Therefore, from 1935-1961, the period of oil exploration and discovery, the Qatari legal system was overseen by both a Sharia judiciary and a British court. From 1961-1971, a Sharia court, a court headed by the Deputy Emir, a labour court, and other courts handled the law.

Al-Kaabi moved on to the period 1971-2003, following independence and when which the main economic activity was not oil. After independence and the end of British jurisdiction over foreign nationals, and to deal with the new situation, there were two courts in Qatar: Sharia and Justice. The Sharia Court applied Islamic Sharia, and the Judicial Court applied Western civil law. Several laws were promulgated during this period.

Al-Kaabi referred to the years 2003-2009 as the period of unified judiciary, during which the Judicial Authority Law was issued, a group of reforms were enacted, and the Sharia and the Judicial Courts were abolished, with the promulgation of Judicial Authority Law No. 10 of 2003. In this period, oil and gas represented the two main economic pillars, the Qatar Investment Authority was established, and Qatar Vision 2030 was launched. In 2009, the Qatar Financial Court was established, inaugurating the stage of developmental investment.

Al-Kaabi concluded his lecture by emphasizing impact of the economy on the judiciary, especially in Qatar as it never adopted a single legislative system, and its legislation was subject to economic shifts in the country. Therefore, Al-Kaabi stressed the importance of economic analysis of law, to study how law and government policies affect the economy, and how the law directs the economic behaviour of companies and individuals. This theory is most relevant, in his opinion, to explaining the evolution of Qatari law, which has always been a dual, or mixed system, with the exception of 2003-2009.