AS, Doha
Answer: According to Article 372 of the relevant laws, if the debtor dies or incapacitated or if the one who assumes proceedings on his behalf has lost such capacity before commencement of the execution or before completion thereof, the execution applicant may request the court to effect execution on his heirs or administrator of succession. Execution shall be within the limits of the deceased’s assets held by the inheritors. Execution may not be conducted until after 10 days from the date of notification of execution to the heirs or administrator. However, the notification may be made, within three months from the date of death of the debtor, to all his heirs in the last domicile of the deceased without stating their names and capacities.
Leased property is not fit for use
Q: What is the remedy available as per law if the leased property is not fit for use? We have entered into a lease agreement with a prominent real estate company in Doha. They have agreed to make necessary arrangements in premises as we demanded and now they refuse to make modifications based on the refusal from the ministry. Can we claim compensation from them for the losses? Please advise in this regard.
TR, Doha
A: The lessor shall deliver to the lessee the leased property and its annexes in a condition fit for its intended use, either as agreed or according to the nature of the property. As per Article 591 of the Civil Laws, if the leased property is delivered in such a condition that it is unfit for the use, the lessee may demand either the termination of the lease agreement or a reduction of the rent equivalent to the loss of use; in both cases, lessee is entitled to claim compensation, if compensation is due without prejudice to his right to oblige the lessor to perform all necessary repairs to enable him to get the condition fit for its intended use.
Obligation of compensation
Q: We have agreed a disproportionate compensation clause in a contract if the same amounts to breach. Now the counterpart is threatening that they will go to court and court will grant the compensation irrespective that there are no damages incurred by them. The situation is that the contract agree damages on breach and there is breach but no losses to the other. Please advise.
TYN, Doha
A: According to Article 266 of Civil Law, compensation agreed upon shall not be payable if the obligor proves that the obligee has not sustained any damages, and the court may reduce agreed amount of compensation if the obligor proves that the assessment was exaggerated, or that the obligation has been executed in part. Any agreement to the contrary is null and void. Article 267 provides that the court may not increase the agreed upon amount of compensation even if the actual damages sustained are higher than the agreed upon except where the obligee proves the obligor’s fraud or gross negligence.
Taking up a new job
Q: My first contract was for two years and it has expired. Now the company extended my contract for another year. My question is on expiry of the renewed contract by the end of this year and if I terminate the contract and cancel my visa, can I work in Qatar under another employer. Please advise.
CE, Doha
A: In case of cancellation of residency permit, the person will be able to return to Qatar to take up employment immediately after being granted a new visa. The new law abolishes the former two-year ban on expatriates who want to come back to the country on a new visa. Also, now there is no requirement of a no-objection certificate from the previous employer for a former resident to take up a new job in Qatar.
As per the new law, the employee can change the job with the approval of the concerned authorities, either after the expiry of their contract or after five years of service with the employer if the contract is of indefinite duration.
* Please send your questions by e-mail to: [email protected]
LEGAL SYSTEM IN QATAR
According to Article 76, the court may, when passing a judgment for a felony or misdemeanour, confiscate the things seized as a result of the crime, or which have been used or intended to be used in the crime, without prejudice to the rights of bona fide third parties. If the manufacture, use, possession, sale or offering for sale of said things is considered to be a crime in itself, the court shall order their confiscation in all circumstances even if such things do not belong to the accused. The court may, in matters of misdemeanours, decide to deport the foreigner from the country instead of condemning him to the penalty provided for the offence.
As per Article 79, the court may, upon passing a judgment for an offence punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or a fine, order the suspension of the execution of the penalty considering the morals of the convicted, his past records, his age, or the circumstances in which the offence was perpetrated, to be good reasons to believe that he shall not reoffend. The court may decide that the suspension of the execution shall include any subsidiary penalty and all the criminal effects except for confiscation.
The suspension of the execution of the penalty shall last for a period of three years, commencing from the day on which the judgment becomes final. If the said period expires without rendering a judgment for the cancellation of the suspension of the execution, the judgment shall be considered as non-existent.
According to Article 81, the suspension of execution may be cancelled in any of the following cases: (1) If during the period of suspension, a judgment for imprisonment rendered against the convict for more than three months for an intentional offence perpetrated during or before the said period and the court did not know about it when ordering the suspension of execution; or (2) If it appears that a judgment of imprisonment for a term of more than three months for an intentional offence was passed before ordering the suspension of execution and the court was unaware about it. The judgment for cancellation of the suspension of the execution of the penalty shall result in its execution.
If a single act constitutes plurality of offences, the offence with the most severe penalty shall be taken into consideration and such a penalty shall be awarded exclusively. If multiple offences have been perpetrated for one purpose, and they are inseparably linked to each other, they shall be considered as one offence, and the most severe penalty provided for any of such offences shall be awarded. Such judgment shall not prevent the court from applying sub-penalties provided for the other offences.
If the court finds in an offence that the circumstances of the offence or of the perpetrator require clemency, it may reduce the sentence provided for the said offence as follows: (1) if the penalty prescribed for the offence is capital punishment, it may be reduced to life imprisonment or imprisonment for a term of no less than five years; (2) if the penalty for the offence is life imprisonment, it may be reduced to imprisonment for a term of no less than three years; and (3) If the penalty prescribed for the crime is imprisonment for a term not exceeding twenty years, it may be reduced to imprisonment for a term of no less than one year. These provisions shall not apply when rendering a judgment for a terrorist offence
