Q: By just guaranteeing a loan repayment orally, can the court make the guarantor liable? In a personal loan transaction, I just said “you pay, I know him”. Later the lender and borrower made several transactions. Now the lender threatens me that he will sue me on the ground that oral contracts are valid in Qatar. Please advise.
DT, Doha

A: The relevant law that governs guarantees is the Qatar Civil Code. Though contracts may be concluded verbally, Article 809 stipulates that guarantees must be concluded in writing. For a guarantee to be valid, reference should be made to the underlying debt being guaranteed. The guarantor must guarantee a specific debt. A guarantor may guarantee future and unspecified obligations of a debtor, provided that the maximum amount being guaranteed and the maximum period of the guarantee are specified in the guarantee document.

Law regarding maternity leave
Q: I have been working in a construction company in the Industrial Area since February 2018. Six months’ probation is included in the employment contract. I have applied for maternity leave from August 10, 2018 due to some complication in pregnancy. But the company has refused to grant maternity leave and asked me to take unpaid leave. This has led to some differences with management and now I have decided to resign. My salary for the last four months is due. How can I get it? Being an employee, am I eligible for maternity leave? What is the law in this regard? Please advise.
CA, Doha

A: If the management is reluctant to pay due salary, the employee can approach the Labour Dispute Resolution Committee and file a case against the company. 
Article 96 of the Labour Law is regarding maternity leave. A female worker who has been employed by an employer for a complete year shall be entitled to maternity leave with full pay for 50 days. Such maternity leave shall include the period before and after the delivery provided that the period following the delivery shall not be less than 35 days. This leave shall be granted subject to a medical certificate issued by a licensed physician stating the probable date of delivery. If the remaining period of the leave after delivery is less than 30 days the female worker may be granted a complementary leave from her annual leave. Otherwise the complementary period shall be deemed to be a leave without pay.

Punishment for trespassing
Q: There is a case against a friend of mine who entered a wrong villa by mistake. He entered villa No 13 instead of No 30 during day time. The tenant called police and a case was filed against him for trespassing. He has received a notice from the court notifying the case date. What is the punishment as per law in such a situation? Please advise. 
JS, Doha 

A: According to Article 323 of the Penal Law, whoever commits trespass by entering into residential premises, or at premises intended for residential purposes or annexes thereof or a place for custody of property, without the consent of the owner or is contrary to the stipulations of the law, shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding QR5,000 or both. The case needs to be defended at court to establish innocence of the accused.


Maintenance issues in villa
Q: I have signed a lease contract for a villa with a Qatari landlord and provided him with post-dated cheques. We have serious maintenance issues in the villa including faulty ACs and leaks in bathrooms. In the last one month, I have complained multiple times to the landlord’s manager, but maintenance is not done properly. In this case, am I legally eligible to terminate the contract and get my remaining cheques back from the landlord?
MS, Doha

A: According to relevant laws, the landlord shall undertake to maintain the leased property in good condition by performing all necessary repairs during the term of the lease in accordance with common practice, unless agreed otherwise. Where the landlord, upon receiving notice, fails to perform the necessary repairs, the tenant may obtain permission from the court to perform such repairs personally and to deduct the cost incurred from the rent, without prejudice to the tenant’s right to demand termination of the lease or a reduction in the rent as provided for by law. 
* Please send your questions to [email protected]

LEGAL SYSTEM IN QATAR

According to Article 480 of Civil and Commercial Procedure law, the minutes of attachment shall be exhibited before the judge of execution within seven days from the date of signature of such attachment. The judge shall issue the list of conditions of sale and determine the basic price at which the auction shall commence within the session of sale within a maximum of thirty days from the date of exhibiting the minutes of attachment. The judge may seek help from experts in assessing this price. Moreover, the judge shall decide the date of hearing to examine objections raised against the list, provided that the date shall not exceed thirty days from the date of determination of the basic price.
The Registry of the court shall, within 15 days following the issue of the list, serve a summons upon the distrainee, whether he is a debtor or owner or in-kind guarantor and creditors; holder of restricted rights on the real property, before registration of attachment in this list. The Registry shall also specify the basic price and date of the hearing identified for examination of an objection against the list. If one of the abovementioned persons is dead, summons shall be served upon all of his heirs in the last domicile in which he lived. 
The summons to be served upon the distrainee shall include ordering him to pay the value of the debt, interests and expenses thereof within 15 days from the date of issue of the judgment on the objections against the list, otherwise the judge shall order the sale of the real property owing to him in the auction. 
As per Article 481, the list of conditions of sale shall include the following: (1) Statement of the executive deed that is subject to execution; (2) Date of minutes of the attachment executed on the real property and the date of registration; (3) Specification of the attached real property with details of location, area, boundaries and other particulars that are helpful in identification of the property; (4) Accessories of the real property and whether it is occupied by the distrainee or third parties and the descriptions of these occupiers; (5) Conditions of sale as shown by the judge to the concerned parties based on which the sale shall take place; (6) Estimated value of the real property as a basic price at which the auction shall commence in the session of sale; (7) Division of the real property into portions, if any, stating the basic price of each portions.
The submission of objections against the conditions of sale shall take place through a report to be filed with the Registry of the court at least three days prior to the specified hearing for examination of these objections, otherwise the right to comply with the conditions shall lapse.
The judge of execution shall rule on all objections submitted pertaining to the list of conditions of sale within a period not exceeding 15 days from the date specified for the session to examine such objections. The judge shall determine a session for the sale of the real property within 30 days from the date specified for issuing a ruling on these objections. 
According to Article 484, the sale shall be made in the court. The person who assumes the proceedings, the distrainee and any concerned party may request a permission from the judge of execution to conduct the sale at the location of the same real property or in another place.