Delivery of judgment in absentia

Question: My company has filed a cheating case against me and the police, after interrogation, took me to the public prosecution but later released me after keeping me in custody for two days. In between, I have received a few messages and one notice but I ignored them. Now the company says that there is a judgment against me. How can this happen? Please advise.TD, DohaAnswer: According to Article 180 of the Criminal Procedure Code, if the defendant who has been duly summoned fails to appear before the court on the day set out in the summons, and did not send an attorney to represent him where such representation is permissible, the Court renders the judgment in his absence, after considering the documentations. If the summons has been delivered to him personally, and the court found that there was no justification for his absence, the judgment shall be deemed to be made in his presence. The court may, instead of rendering its judgment in absentia, adjourn the case to a subsequent hearing and order to be notified again and to be warned that if he fails to appear in this hearing, the judgment issued shall be considered in presence. In case of judgments in absentia, the convicted person is allowed to file objection within seven days from being personally notified of the judgment. If the convicted person is not notified, the objection term starts by the date it is proved that he was notified. If the time for objection lapses without objection by the convicted person, the objection to the judgment shall not be accepted except by way of appeal, in permitted cases. Maintenance of rented propertyQ: I am staying with my colleagues in a villa in Doha. We have been in this building since 2013. Our landlord refuses to do proper maintenance of the building. If we ask for some repairs he says that it is the tenant’s duty to do maintenance. If the agreement is silent on maintenance, who will be responsible for the maintenance of the building? Please advise.  RT, Doha A: Under Article 615 of the Qatar Civil Code, the lessee shall be bound to carry out the minor repairs required by the normal use of the leased property. The lessee shall be bound to return the leased property in the condition as it was at the time when he occupied, subject to loss or deterioration due to a cause not attributed to him. If no agreement in writing setting out particulars of the property was drawn, the lessee is presumed, subject to proof to the contrary to have received the property in good condition. The tenant shall bear the expenses incurred in the return of the leased property, unless the agreement or prevailing custom otherwise provides. Conversion of driving licenceQ: I’m in Qatar on a visit visa. I will get residence visa soon. I hold Omani driving licence which is valid till 2020. Is it possible convert the Omani licence without taking a driving test? Please advise.AS, DohaA: As per the new regulations, the Traffic Department has stopped converting driving licences of expatriates from the other GCC countries into Qatar Driving licence. Earlier, the GCC licence holders were able to convert their licences without a test. But now, GCC licence holders have to pass both theory and road tests for obtaining driving licence. Embezzlement chargeQ: I am working as an accountant and the company I work for has filed a case against me stating that I have taken QR2,000 from the company accounts. The court hearing is to be held in the first week of May. What will be the consequences if I accept the offence charged? Can I pay the amount and leave Qatar? Please advise. KD, Doha A: In general, whoever being in any manner entrusted with property or with any dominion over property, dishonestly misappropriates or converts to his own use that property or dishonestly uses or disposes of that property in violation of the legal contract, express or implied, commits criminal breach of trust. Under Article 362 of the Qatar Penal Laws, any person in such cases shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years and a fine not exceeding ten thousand Riyals.*Please send your questions by e-mail to: leges@qatar.net.qaAccording to Article 68, in any judgment whereby a criminal penalty is imposed against a person exercising a self-employed profession organised by law, and which requires the obtaining of a licence, an offence perpetrated during the exercise of the activities of the said profession or caused by it and including any violations of the obligations set by the law or the conventional ethics of the profession, the court may decide to deprive the convicted person from exercising his profession for a period not exceeding ten years. If the judgment imposes imprisonment for a term exceeding seven years, the court shall decide whether to deprive the convicted person from exercising his profession for a period equal to the imposed term of imprisonment. In addition to the special cases provided by the law for closure, the court shall order the closure of a place or public establishment where the work is exercised, in any of the following cases: (1) If it decides the prohibition from the exercise of the profession, the closure shall be for the same period of the prohibition of exercise; or (2) If it decides a penalty for the exercise of a craft in a public establishment which does not fulfill the conditions required by the law, which may threaten the life of persons, their health or security or to disturb them, the closure shall last until the said conditions are fulfilled.As per Article 72, whoever is sentenced to imprisonment for a term exceeding seven years for an offence against the external or internal security of the State, for an offence of bribery, embezzlement, damage to public funds, forgery of money or government financial bills, intentional fire, possession of explosives or intentional murder, shall be put by virtue of the law, after completing of his penalty, under police surveillance for a period equivalent to half of the term of his penalty, provided that the police surveillance shall not exceed five years. The court, however, may reduce the period of surveillance or exempt the person thereof. Every judgment against a recidivist in an offence of forgery, theft, mistrust, fraud or hiding proceeds of a crime or attempted crime may include, in addition to the decided penalty, putting the convicted person under police surveillance for a period not less than one year and not exceeding two years. According to Article 74, any person who is subject to police surveillance shall have to comply with the following terms: (1) Inform the police station of his domicile and any change thereof; the police station may not approve his residence in said place if located in the region where the offence was perpetrated; if he has no domicile, the police station shall determine a place where he shall reside; (2) Always carry a card provided to him by the police station bearing all the specifications about his identity and which he shall submit to the police station upon any request; (3) Appear before the police station in his area once a week, at the time set on the card and at any time he is required by the police station to do so; (4) To be at his domicile from sunset and sunrise unless he obtains an authorization from the police station allowing him to be absent from his designated domicile during the specified period or part of it. A convict who fails to comply with the conditions of surveillance shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year or by a fine not exceeding five thousand riyals, or both.