Juris
Doctor (JD) students at the College of Law and Public Policy (CLPP) of
Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) recently attended a special guest
lecture on the courts of Qatar and local judicial processes.
The
lecture, conducted within CLPP’s JD programme and falling within Qatari
law firm Sultan Al-Abdulla & Partners (SAP)’s corporate social
responsibility and community engagement initiatives, aimed at providing
students with an expert’s perspective of the Qatari court system.
Ashraf
Feshawi, the guest speaker and a partner at SAP, provided the students
with an overview of the legal framework within the court system in
Qatar, as well as judicial steps and procedures available in the
country. His lecture explained how the local court system is based on
civil law derived from the French as opposed to the Anglo-Saxon common
law system, and emphasised the importance of differentiating between the
two systems to understand the application of court precedent before the
courts.
The students also discussed different types of cases that
may be brought before the courts, including civil and trade cases, real
estate, construction contract disputes, labour matters, family law cases
and administrative cases.
As part of the lecture, JD students
learned more about issues that can arise in practice, such as whether a
court can consider cases with a foreign governing law, the duration of
cases before the courts of Qatar, and how hearings are conducted before
the respective judges.
The Advocacy course is offered within the JD
programme and covers advocacy in international arbitration and
litigation in both civil and common law jurisdictions. As well as
learning the theory and practice of advocacy, JD students also
participate in a mock trial at the Qatar International Court.
Training
sessions and special guest lectures are an integral part of the
curriculum at CLPP to ensure that practical skills are developed
alongside a theoretical understanding of legal issues and concepts.
Mana
A al-Ansari, a JD student, said: “Ashraf has been practising the legal
profession in Qatar for more than 18 years, so having a person of such a
calibre to deliver some of his expertise was extraordinary. As students
of CLPP’s JD programme, we are able to benefit from a wide range of
applied activities that complement our theoretical knowledge and form a
critical component of our learning experience.”
The special lecture was delivered by Ashraf Feshawi, guest speaker and partner at Sultan Al-Abdulla & Partners. The lecture, conducted within CLPP’s JD programme and falling within Qatari law firm Sultan Al-Abdulla & Partners (SAP)’s corporate social responsibility and community engagement initiatives, aimed at providing students with an expert’s perspective of the Qatari court system.