QUESTION: A case has been registered against me for cheating. I have not received any notice from the court. What will happen if I fail to attend the court even after receiving notification from it? I have no money with me to settle the matter or to appoint a lawyer.
DT, Doha
ANSWER: According to Article 180 of the Qatar Criminal Procedure Code, if the defendant who has been duly summoned fails to appear for hearing specified in the notice and did not depute an attorney to represent him where such representation is permissible, the court renders the judgment in his absence, after considering the documentation.
In the event, the notice was delivered to him personally and the court finds no excuse for his nonattendance, the judgment is considered in attendance.
However, the court may instead of rendering its judgment in absentia, adjourn the action to the following hearing and order the defendant to be notified again and to be warned that if he fails to appear, the rendered judgment is considered in presence.
Cancellation of driver licence
Q: I am working as a salesman with a local company. I have passed driving tests and soon will be issued with a licence. The employment offer states that my job will be lost if my driving licence is cancelled somehow. Please advice on cancellation of licences under point system.
AS, Doha
A: As per Traffic Law - Decree No 19 of 2007, the traffic violations will be recorded on a point-based scale. The five-phase process will end up in cancellation of the licence and force the violators for a re-test, after at least one year of the cancellation of the licence.
A driving licence may be suspended for three months when the total violations reached 14 points for the first time. Suspension for six months will attract for the next 12 points, nine months on the accumulation of the next 10 points and one year for the next eight points.
The licence may be cancelled when charged with six points for the fifth time. And in such case, a new driving licence shall be issued only after a fresh driving test. However, the earlier points in one’s account would be removed if that person did not commit any traffic violation during one year from the time his licence was revoked.
Compensation for injuries
Q: Our company has no compensation policy coverage for workers. Recently we had an accident and few of our employees were injured. We received an advice that the in the absence of an insurance policy, full compensation will be available only for Arab nationals and not for others. Is this true?
AF, Doha
A: As per law, compensation for injury at work is to be paid by the employer. The insurance company is responsible for the compensation of the injuries to the worker on behalf of the company. A contract of insurance is a contract to indemnify the insurer.
There is no discrimination on the basis of nationality. The amount of compensation will be decided by the court after considering the medical report submitted by the medical committee and the extent of the disability.
However, the injured person can claim more than the standard amount if he can prove to the court that the injury has prevented him from continuing his normal job and caused his family unnecessary hardship.
Maximum work hours
Q: Because of the bad financial situation in our company, most workers have already left and only few have stayed back. In order to complete certain projects we are forced to work long hours. The company says that it has special approval for extended time by Decision No 11. Please advice on maximum work hours, overtime, etc.
TH, Doha
A: As per guidelines issued by the government and provisions of the Labour Law, the daily overtime should not exceed two hours a day, which should be in all cases paid and such time can be extended in unusual circumstances only.
With regard to work hours, the maximum work hours is stipulated at 48 hours per week during the whole calendar year, except during the Holy Month of Ramadan, during which the maximum working hours is 36 hours per week.
However, the following are exempted from time stipulations under Decision No 11 of 2005:
Employees handling machinery and equipment, boilers, kilns and employees that are vital to the employer to conduct its daily activities as per the schedule; works that require completion of the work on an urgent or regular basis such as repair and maintenance work on machinery, boilers, ovens, kilns and those deployed as mobile repair units; staff required to load and unload ships and aircraft and other vehicles crucial to import and export; staff needed to complete industrial operations that cannot be deferred due to technical reasons; those working as watchmen and security crew at worksites and other premises; firefighters and rescue operators that require highly-specialized skills and sanitation and public cleanliness work conducted by trained personnel.
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LEGAL SYSTEM IN QATAR
A person in possession of a movable, of a real right over a movable or of a bearer warrant by virtue of a just title becomes the owner thereof if he was of good faith at the moment he acquired possession. If he enters into possession in good faith and by virtue of a just title, in the belief that the thing is free of charges and encumbrances, he acquires the thing free of such charges and encumbrances. Subject to proof to the contrary, mere possession is a presumption of a just title and good faith.
Article 972 stipulates that a person who has lost or has been robbed of a movable or a bearer warrant, can, within three years from the date of the loss or the theft, bring an action to recover it from a third party in possession, even if such third party is of a just title and good faith.
When the thing lost or stolen is found in possession of a third party who bought it on the market, at a public sale or from a merchant selling similar articles, such third party is entitled to recover from the person claiming restitution the price he paid for the thing.
Possession ceases when the possessor abandons his actual control over the right or when he loses it in any other way. However, possession does not cease if a temporary obstacle prevents the possessor from exercising his actual control over the right.
A person who is in possession of an immovable and who loses possession thereof may, during two years following his loss of possession, claim to be reinstated in possession.
In general, a person who has possession of a movable or immovable without being its owner, or of a real right over a movable or immovable without being its owner, or of a real right over a movable or immovable without a just title thereto, may acquire the ownership of the thing or the title to the real thing unless there is proof to the contrary.
Generally a possessor of a real property who loses possession may claim its recovery within the following two years after its loss. If possession is secret, the two year period shall commence from the date of revealing such secret. A person who has possession in favour of another person may demand the recovery of possession.
A person losing possession after having been in possession for less than two years, can only claim to be reinstated if the person dispossessing him has not a better possession than his own.
The possession is better if founded on a legal title. If neither possessor has a title or both possessors have titles of equal value, the better possession is that which commenced first. If the loss of possession takes place by violence, the possessor may always claim restitution within two years following the loss of possession
