President of the Investment and Trade Court Judge Khalid bin Ali al-Obaidly said that the existence of a court specialised in investment and trade issues in the State of Qatar has had a significant impact on the national economy, in just one year since its inception.
He said that the court increased the pace of resolving commercial disputes with a dedication to integrity and transparency, in line with the plans of the State of Qatar to attract foreign investments.
He added, in a special statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), on the occasion of the court's one-year anniversary, that it commenced work on May 10, 2022 with a state-of-the-art electronic system, starting from registration to case management, setting the session, and ending with the issuance of 100% of preliminary and appeal rulings. He noted that the electronic system contributed to the facilitation and speeding up of the process, which contributed to the realization of the Qatar National Vision 2030 laid by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. He added that the court adopted a paperless, electronic system with the aim of providing advanced electronic services in the judicial field that help speed up procedures and save time and effort for litigants. He added that these procedures have contributed to the organisation and development of the registration process by providing all services to auditors in a smooth and organised manner through the establishment of a self-service office.
He added that the self-service office is a large hall equipped with all equipment and technical means that help auditors to register and follow-up claims via the electronic portal through modern computers connected to the Internet and equipped with a scanner in order to download documents and paper documents. He also said that a group of specialists works in the self-service office, who provide assistance and technical support to the auditors.
He pointed out that the self-service system is one of the most prominent achievements of the court, and constitutes a milestone that distinguishes the investment court from other international trade and investment courts. Thanks to the self-service, the registration rate through the online portal has increased to approximately 97% of total cases. The remaining 3% relates to people with special needs and the elderly.
He considered that the self-service system achieves many benefits for litigants, most notably: training litigants on the method of registration and attaching notes in a correct manner, in addition to training them on the method of entering and using the court system by creating a user name and password through the national authentication program so that the auditor can follow up on claims and cases.
He stressed that it was crucial for the court to keep pace with international standards in terms of the quality of services, ease of procedures, and reduction of time required for all stages of litigation.
He discussed the agreements and memorandums of understanding signed by the court since its inception last year. He noted that the company signed a three-year agreement with Singaporean company CrimsonLogic to develop a system for commercial lawsuits and civil and commercial dispute settlement management. The agreement aims to provide an integrated electronic system for managing commercial lawsuits and a comprehensive platform for all judicial procedures related to courts and concerned units to ensure and achieve information sharing, data management, dealing with all lawsuit parties through multiple channels, and the facilitation of commercial dispute settlement requirements. The court also signed two memorandums of understanding with Qatar Certified Public Accountants Association and the Qatar Society of Engineers, within the framework of developing the accounting and engineering expertise of the court to improve the quality and accuracy of the court's litigation process.
He said that the court consists of primary and appellate circuits, in addition to a circuit in the Court of Cassation that specialises in examining appeals against rulings issued by the court.
Regarding the case management department, he confirmed that the court witnessed the first application of the case management system in the State of Qatar, indicating that this system is entrusted with preparing the case under judicial supervision in a way that reduces judicial procedures, and prepares it before presenting it to the court in preparation for its decision. In addition to the possibility of offering reconciliation to the litigants in a way that leads to consolidating restorative justice and relieving the burden of judges, stressing that the department ensures that the case proceeds in a sound systematic manner to speed up litigation procedures in order to reach prompt justice.
Regarding the cases processed by the Investment and Commerce Court since its inception last year, he said that the court received 14,412 applications between May 10, 2022 and April 30, 2023, of which 8,364 turned to cases, and 5,353 saw a verdict. There were also 449 urgent requests registered, all of which turned into lawsuits, 230 of which saw verdicts. As for the appeal, He said the court received 1,211 requests for registration of judgment lawsuits in 621 of them, and Cassation registered 34 requests for judgment in 9 of them. He also said that the urgent cases circuits in the Investment and Trade Court issued 361 final judgments that took 67 days on average, while the average for the appeals circuits was 73 days, 97 for primary circuits for individuals, and 107 for primary circuits for entities.
He added that the court law has defined the jurisdiction of the court, and among those jurisdictions are disputes related to commercial contracts and lawsuits arising between merchants related to their business, as well as disputes related to the investment of non-Qatari capital in economic activity in the country, and related to the operations of banks, insurance companies, financing and investment companies, bankruptcy and bankruptcy reconciliation. He added that the court also settles disputes related to patents, protection of competition, prevention of monopolistic practices, combating practices harmful to national products in international trade, disputes related to electronic commerce and its transactions, and disputes related to partnership contracts between the government and private sectors.
He said the court has become a safe haven to investors and litigators since its establishment last year by providing a suitable legal environment for investment and commerce, thanks to its judges' commitment to transparency and integrity. He added that the court aims to prepare a legal environment that encourages investment and sustainable economic growth. His Excellency noted that it was an exciting year filled with challenges that the court succeeded in meeting. He also thanked all the court's members for their achievement and honest efforts in enhancing legal justice in the State of Qatar, which had a positive impact on enhancing investor confidence in the state.
Khalid bin Ali al-Obaidly.
