Electronic services which are currently already implemented in several Qatari courts, are planned to be fully implemented in the entire judicial system in Qatar by year-end, Qatari legal experts have said.

Speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of a conference titled ‘The Courts’ System in the State of Qatar’, Dr Sheikh Thani bin Ali Al Thani, Board Member for International Relations at Qatar International Center for Conciliation Arbitration (QICCA) said the digital transformation of Qatar’s judicial system, which includes the development of the country’s legal electronic portal, will not only help improve the legal processes, but will also benefit businesses in the country.

To date, the e-services allow users to go through the portal of the courts to carry out various legal procedures electronically without the need for a special visit, added Nasser bin Ahmed Al Saadi, Judge at the Supreme Judicial Council’s (SJC) Court of Appeal.

Dr Al Thani added: “In 2019, we had about 24 new laws to help in the facilitation of the legal cases. The government has also issued several laws for businesses, including the Law No.1 of 2019 regulating the investment of the non-Qatari capital in economic activity. All of these are helping the businesses, and we’re looking for more investors to come to Qatar. The electronic services have already started in some Qatari courts, but hopefully by the end of the year it will be implemented in all Qatari courts”.

It may be noted that the SJC has launched its e-services portal beta version last year, which was in line with its previous agreement with the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) to modernise and develop courts in Qatar electronically. The programme is part of the objectives of the Qatar Government Stategy 2020, which envisions that ‘all individuals and businesses will benefit from connecting online with Qatar’s more open and efficient government’.

The agreement, which was signed in 2017, aims to enhance legal processes and increase efficiency based on international best practice. The programme targets simplified litigation procedures, reduced litigation process time, and improved and more efficient court processes.

“The legal electronic portal is a national government programme. It has already started in phases. Hopefully in a year, or maximum two years, it will be fully implemented in all Qatari courts,” Al Saadi added.

Speaking earlier during his presentation titled ‘A Summary of the Electronic Project for the Organisation of Qatari Courts’, Al Saadi said the e-services enable users to apply and pay electronically, as well as search for case queries, follow-up on hearing schedules, request for judgment copy and audiovisual recordings of sessions and other services online. Cases are also presented and followed up electronically.

This will improve the accuracy of data and the competitiveness of Qatari courts in the global judicial system, he added.

Also speaking earlier during the opening of the conference, Dr Al Thani reiterated that Qatar’s economic development is matched by its legislative development. He added that the increase in the number of legal cases is an evidence of the country’s economic activity and a positive indicator of its increased commercial transactions.

He added that Qatar’s hosting of the second meeting of the Global Judicial Integrity Network was considered one of the outputs of the Global Programme for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration adopted by the United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in 2015.

SOURCE: THEPENINSULAQATAR