*Cabinet approves forming of the Civil Defence Council; also to issue a draft law on human food control and a draft law on consumer protection

To further protect the interests of both the landlords and the tenants, the Cabinet has taken the necessary measures to amend some provisions of Law No 4 of 2008 and issue a draft law that makes it mandatory for the lessor to register leasing agreements within 60 days of signing the contract.
The registration that has to be done at the office for real estate agreements, provides the contract legal recognition as a valid document in case of a litigation arising between the lessor and the lessee.
According to the official Qatar News Agency (QNA), the decision, among others, was taken at the Cabinet's weekly meeting, chaired by HE the Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani at the Emiri Diwan on Wednesday.
Under the amended legislation, lease agreements subject to the provisions of the law are to be drawn up in writing. Such an agreement must include the name of the lessor and the tenant, their nationalities, addresses and legal representatives, lease duration, lease amount, payment conditions, description of the property, lease purpose and all the conditions agreed upon.
The lessor must register the lease agreement at the office for real estate agreements within 60 days from the date of signing the deal. For every registered agreement, the office will receive, as fees, 0.5% of the yearly lease amount for every residential, commercial or other units specified in the building permit. This amount will range from a minimum of QR250 to a maximum of QR2,500. 
The fees can be amended if approved by the Cabinet and based on the suggestion of the Minister of Municipality and Environment. 
In March this year, the Cabinet had approved a draft law amending some provisions of Law No 4 of 2008 and decided to refer it to the Advisory Council.
According to a Gulf Times report, applications submitted by a lessee to the judicial authorities shall not be considered valid unless the lease is registered at the designated office.
The Cabinet also took the necessary measures to issue a draft law amending some provisions of Law No 8 of 1990 on human food control. It also approved a draft law amending some provisions of Law No 8 of 2008 on consumer protection and decided to refer it to the Advisory Council. 
In another development, the Cabinet approved the Emiri Draft Decision on forming the Civil Defence Council. The draft decision helps implementation of Law No 25 of 2015 on Civil Defence.
Under the provisions of the draft decision, the Civil Defence Council is to have the Minister of Interior as president and Director-General of Public Security as vice-president. It will also have, as members, representatives of a number of entities. 
The council has a number of responsibilities, such as approving plans and projects to implement the general policy of Civil Defence and its departments. 

Qatar-Iran-Turkey route approved

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved a draft memorandum of understanding on facilitating transport and transit traffic between Qatar, Iran and Turkey, QNA reported. 
A recently-launched trade route from Turkey via Bushehr port in Iran is expected to help reduce the cost of transporting goods to Qatar. It will also help cut down on travel time compared to other routes.
The launch of the route marks a significant step in tackling the blockade.
Some 200 loaded trucks recently arrived at Qatar’s Ruwais Port from Turkey via Bushehr, using the new route.
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