Qatar International Court receives QU students

The Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre (QICDRC) welcomed a group of female students to the court last week. Accompanied by Professor Francis Botchway from Qatar University, the students were provided with an insight into the role of the court and its relationship with Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) institutions, businesses and individuals.Registrar Christopher Grout, who led the discussion, covered various topics, highlighting, in particular, the court’s strengths and differentiating factors. He observed, “As this court is established pursuant to the laws of QFC, we have specific processes and procedural rules and regulations, which are unique to the court. For example, parties may conduct proceedings in English, in Arabic or in both languages with the assistance of the court’s simultaneous interpretation facilities. “Parties may present their own cases or be legally represented by a suitably qualified Qatari or foreign lawyer; it is entirely a matter for them. E-filing is encouraged and so, while we do accept the submission of pleadings, documents and other exhibits in hard copy, we promote the use of filing online as it is quicker, free to use, less time-consuming and much more environment-friendly.”  Students also had the chance to see the technology offered at QICDRC, which was emphasised by Grout: “Providing state-of-the-art facilities helps save both time and money for everyone involved. Sometimes, a case can take place entirely virtually, through video conferencing, which connects parties, witnesses, lawyers and judges all over the world, meaning that nobody has to be physically present at the court itself.” Following the talk, the students had the opportunity to take part in a Q&A session with Grout, where they were interested in knowing about the law the court applied.Grout explained, “The starting point will generally be the QFC Law and QFC Regulations, which cover a whole host of areas, including employment, insolvency, data protection and financial services, to name but a few. However, in accordance with the principle of freedom of contract, parties may have a governing law clause that stipulates, for example, that disputes arising out of their commercial contracts are to be resolved by the court in accordance with a foreign law - for example English law or French law. In such a case, and subject to certain exceptions, that is the law the court will apply.” Dr Botchway said, “The students were very impressed and asked a lot of questions during the visit”.