QICDRC jurisdiction to extend to QSTP, Media City; aims SEZs regime unification

The jurisdiction of the Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre (QICDRC) is expected to extend to Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) and Media City.
The country is also slated to see unification of regulatory regime across special economic zones (SEZs) to promote certainty for businesses, according to QICDRC chief executive officer Faisal Rashid al-Sahouti.
"Currently, the QICDRC has jurisdiction over Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) and Qatar Free Zone (QFZ), with the potential to cover other SEZs (special economic zones)," he said in Lexis Middle East Law Alert, a publication from LexisNexis Legal and Professional, a leading global provider of legal, regulatory and business information and analytics.
There are currently four SEZs in Qatar: the QFC, the QSTP, the QFZ and the emerging Media City, he said.
"One of the key roles of the QICDRC is to unify the different regimes and rules in order to promote certainty for business and the consistent application of justice across the SEZs," he said.
This is coupled with robust enforcement powers, which help increase investor confidence and promote business practices, which benefit all SEZ stakeholders, the SEZ themselves and by extension, the whole of Qatar, according to him.
In support of this, al-Sahouti said in the QFC and the QFZ, which come under the QICDRC jurisdiction, there have been growth, job creation, increasing investor confidence, and a real entrepreneurial spirit in developing.
"SEZs clearly have a significant role in Qatar’s future growth plans," he said, adding there was a need to improve, promote and invest in SEZs to drive the country towards achieving the aims that are enshrined in the National Vision 2030.
The influx of high quality companies and investment into Qatar shows that these SEZs are fertile ground for investment, economic growth and job creation, he said.
"As we advance, a range of SEZ hubs will help foster investment in advanced technologies in the same geographic area, which in turn will help cross-fertilisation and partnerships," al-Sahouti said.
The QICDRC play a "significant" role in strengthening and supporting the benefits of establishing a business in a SEZ, he said.
SEZs are bespoke jurisdictions created by Qatar where special business-friendly laws apply. These can include favourable ownership rules, lower taxation and rules allowing full repatriation of profits.
He said one of the ideas behind QSTP or Media City was to combine international expertise and investment with local entrepreneurs and local workforce, which therefore also supports three of the four pillars of the 2030 National Vision such as human, economic and environmental development.
“The advantage of this approach to development is that it can be replicated on a sector-by-sector basis comparatively quickly, particularly in a country like Qatar, which already has a number of successful SEZs,” al-Sahouti said.
The QICDRC – which is made up of a civil and commercial court, along with a regulatory tribunal -- has a panel of judges, who come from as many as 13 jurisdictions across the world, including Qatari judges.