Qatar Chamber, Tuesday March 22
- Minister of Justice: Qatar is on foot to develop its legislative structure in accordance with the best international standards
- QC Chairman: Arbitration removes fears of investors and attracts investments
Under the patronage of HE Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani, the ‘4th World Conference on International Arbitration’ kicked off on Tuesday at the Ritz Carlton Hotel under the theme ‘Impact of Arbitration on Achieving a Suitable Environment for Investment’.
The two-day conference is organised by the Qatar International Centre for Conciliation and Arbitration (QICCA) at Qatar Chamber and coincides with the five-year anniversary of issuing the Qatari arbitration law and the issuance of QICCA’s new rules for conciliation and arbitration.
The conference was opened by HE Minister of Justice Masoud bin Mohamed Al Ameri in the presence of QC and QICCA Chairman HE Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani and QICCA Board Member for International Relations HE Dr Sheikh Thani bin Ali Al-Thani, as well as a crowd of senior experts, international arbitrators and lawyers from Qatar and other countries.
A total of 30 experts in the field of arbitration inside the State of Qatar and abroad will speak at the event which will features 8 panel discussions.
Addressing the opening session, HE Minister of Justice Masoud bin Mohamed Al Ameri said that the conference is of great importance for countries that seek to offer a convenient environment for foreign investments, stressing the State of Qatar’s endeavour to achieve the objectives of sustainable inclusive development, whose pillars are laid by the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
HE the Minister also said that the economic development of countries is a path to a brighter and more productive future, indicating that alternative means of settlement, in particular arbitration, had become one of the most prominent pillars of that process, and one of the most important means of attracting foreign investment.
Underscoring Qatar’s interest in international commercial arbitration, HE said that it has issued Law No. 2 of 2017 promulgating the Civil and Commercial Arbitration Law, whose principles and provisions were based on the UNCITRAL Model Law (UNCITRAL) and the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards 1958, noting that Qatar issued Decree No 29 of 2003 Ratifying the Accession of the State of Qatar to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.
HE the Minister said that this conference is in the context of the continuous development and update of the recent international practices in the field of international arbitration, assuring that it emphasized Qatar’s keenness to own an effective national arbitration system that adopts the best international standards in cooperation with all national partners, such as QICCA at Qatar Chamber, whose new rules will be issued soon to join our legislative and judicial systems in the field of international commercial arbitration.
Al Ameri also pointed out that the Ministry’s issued about 41 arbitral awards in 2020, and about 43 awards last year, with total value of QR 9bn,
The Minister of Justice indicated that administrative unit specialised in Arbitration affairs received about 41 arbitral rulings in 2020 and about 43 last year between institutional arbitration and free arbitration, with a total value of QR9 billion, noting that QICCA had the largest share of these awards.
HE stressed that Qatar is on foot to develop its legislative, legal, and judicial structure in accordance with the best international standards to achieve the rule of law and sustainable development and to uphold the principles of justice and human rights by promoting community awareness of international commercial arbitration and disseminating its culture.
On his part, QC and QICCA Chairman HE Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani confirmed that close relation between arbitration and investment, stressing the importance of arbitration in achieving the swift settlement of disputes, preventing damage to investments, and disrupting the interests of investors.
HE affirmed arbitration represents an ideal means for settling disputes arising from international contracts, especially in light of the economic openness and the economic diversification strategy adopted by Qatar, assuring that arbitration is considered a speedy, confidential and flexible mechanism that ensures the highest levels of justice.
Sheikh Khalifa added: “The arbitration process mainly contributes to encouraging foreign investments, as it removes the fears of foreign investors about the slow pace of local litigation procedures and offer them a quick settlement of their disputes without causing any damage to their investments”.
Arbitration has become a means of reassurance that protects and guarantees rights of the investors and preserves its capitals, he said, stressing that the more transparent and clear the arbitration law in the host country for investments, the more attractive the country will be for foreign investments.
QC Chairman also indicated that the Qatar Arbitration Law, that was issued five years ago, instills the principle of arbitration in solving disputes, especially in light of the economic boom witnessed by Qatar, the increasing demand of major international companies to invest in the state, and the existence of major infrastructure projects or those that are related to the 2022 FIFA World Cup and other promising sectors for investment in the country.
هذه الصفحة متوفرة ايضاً باللغة: Arabic
