HBKU students get insight into Qatari court system

JurisDoctor (JD) students at the College of Law and Public Policy (CLPP) ofHamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) recently attended a special guestlecture on the courts of Qatar and local judicial processes. Thelecture, conducted within CLPP’s JD programme and falling within Qatarilaw firm Sultan Al-Abdulla & Partners (SAP)’s corporate socialresponsibility and community engagement initiatives, aimed at providingstudents with an expert’s perspective of the Qatari court system. AshrafFeshawi, the guest speaker and a partner at SAP, provided the studentswith an overview of the legal framework within the court system inQatar, as well as judicial steps and procedures available in thecountry. His lecture explained how the local court system is based oncivil law derived from the French as opposed to the Anglo-Saxon commonlaw system, and emphasised the importance of differentiating between thetwo systems to understand the application of court precedent before thecourts. The students also discussed different types of cases thatmay be brought before the courts, including civil and trade cases, realestate, construction contract disputes, labour matters, family law casesand administrative cases.As part of the lecture, JD studentslearned more about issues that can arise in practice, such as whether acourt can consider cases with a foreign governing law, the duration ofcases before the courts of Qatar, and how hearings are conducted beforethe respective judges.The Advocacy course is offered within the JDprogramme and covers advocacy in international arbitration andlitigation in both civil and common law jurisdictions. As well aslearning the theory and practice of advocacy, JD students alsoparticipate in a mock trial at the Qatar International Court. Trainingsessions and special guest lectures are an integral part of thecurriculum at CLPP to ensure that practical skills are developedalongside a theoretical understanding of legal issues and concepts. ManaA al-Ansari, a JD student, said: “Ashraf has been practising the legalprofession in Qatar for more than 18 years, so having a person of such acalibre to deliver some of his expertise was extraordinary. As studentsof CLPP’s JD programme, we are able to benefit from a wide range ofapplied activities that complement our theoretical knowledge and form acritical component of our learning experience.”