Qatar University’s College of Business and Economics and College of Law organised a panel discussion under the title ’The Financial and Legal Implications of Corona Pandemic and Precautionary Measures’. The panel discussion was moderated by Prof Dr Hassan Abdul Rahim al-Sayed, associate professor at the Faculty of Law and director of Social and Economic Survey Research Institute; with the participation of Mohamed al-Jammal, associate professor of finance; Dr Abdullah Abdul Karim Abdullah, professor of Private Law; and Dr Faten Hawa, associate professor of Private Law, staff members and students.
The opening session discussed the current repercussions of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic in terms of economic, legal aspects and the precautionary measures used to limit the spread of this crisis. Abdul Rahman al-Ansari, CEO of Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Company, said: “The pandemic has involved the public, private sector, governments and individuals in its consequences resulting from changing the shape of the economy in the future. While, the countries themselves are more concerned with food and medicine supplies, we must focus on developing the form of production which is in demand, people losing their jobs and emerging for new jobs which did not exists before. There are many future opportunities to invest in the digital domain and the use of modern technologies with easy access to services”
Speaking about the impact of the crisis on the markets in general and the Qatari market in particular, Dr al-Jammal said: "The impact cannot be determined yet because it has not ended and there are still effects that have not yet appeared. As the effects are not only quantitative but rather a quality that varies from sector to sector and also varies within the same sector.”
“The impact of the crisis on financial markets began to be evident since the end of February, as we witnessed huge decline in the history of stock exchanges since the creation of global exchanges. We see that there is a gradual recovery resulting in an increase in some markets, due to the way government is handling the pandemic,” he added
Dr Abdel Rahim said: "Countries differ from each other in the prevalence of infection, the level of resources, and the readiness of the health system. There are a set of instructions which should be followed in countries that consider mitigating precautionary measures, the most important of which is that there is a decrease in the number of new cases recorded daily and this decrease should continue. The second consideration is that every individual carrying the symptoms of illness should be examined.”
On the main legal implications during this pandemic, Dr Karim explained: “The problem arose when the obligations were implemented, which no one was expecting. We cannot predict when the pandemic will end and this may make the implementation of the commitment by one of the parties to the contract or perhaps both, exhausting or impossible, because there were obstacles that arose in the implementation of these contracts due to the pandemic. These are problems that society faces before the judiciary and the contractors before the judge, and everyone should take part in finding solutions.”
"The Consumer Protection Law of 2008 and its amendments and its executive regulations guarantee protection for consumer rights in Qatar. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry plays a major role in implementing the consumer protection system through its different administration, where the Consumer Protection Law granted the status of judicial seizure to some of the ministry’s employees to exercise their duties in consumer protection,” added, Dr Hawa.
Speaking about the impact of the crisis on the markets in general and the Qatari market in particular, Dr al-Jammal said: "The impact cannot be determined yet because it has not ended and there are still effects that have not yet appeared. As the effects are not only quantitative but rather a quality that varies from sector to sector and also varies within the same sector.”
“The impact of the crisis on financial markets began to be evident since the end of February, as we witnessed huge decline in the history of stock exchanges since the creation of global exchanges. We see that there is a gradual recovery resulting in an increase in some markets, due to the way government is handling the pandemic,” he added
Dr Abdel Rahim said: "Countries differ from each other in the prevalence of infection, the level of resources, and the readiness of the health system. There are a set of instructions which should be followed in countries that consider mitigating precautionary measures, the most important of which is that there is a decrease in the number of new cases recorded daily and this decrease should continue. The second consideration is that every individual carrying the symptoms of illness should be examined.”
On the main legal implications during this pandemic, Dr Karim explained: “The problem arose when the obligations were implemented, which no one was expecting. We cannot predict when the pandemic will end and this may make the implementation of the commitment by one of the parties to the contract or perhaps both, exhausting or impossible, because there were obstacles that arose in the implementation of these contracts due to the pandemic. These are problems that society faces before the judiciary and the contractors before the judge, and everyone should take part in finding solutions.”
"The Consumer Protection Law of 2008 and its amendments and its executive regulations guarantee protection for consumer rights in Qatar. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry plays a major role in implementing the consumer protection system through its different administration, where the Consumer Protection Law granted the status of judicial seizure to some of the ministry’s employees to exercise their duties in consumer protection,” added, Dr Hawa.
