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The Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre (QICDRC) has concluded its 2026 training programme on international commercial courts, featuring lectures, panel discussions and applied workshops on relevant legislation.  The program highlighted the procedures and practices of QICDRC and the Regulatory Tribunal of the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), bringing together 25 qualified lawyers and legal practitioners who gained practical insights into the legal frameworks and procedural rules governing court proceedings and appeals before the court’s appellate division.  It covered the key stages of litigation, including emergency motions, commencement of proceedings, defences and counterclaims, jurisdictional disputes, disclosure and case preparation, hearings and evidence, judgments, court orders and damages, costs and enforcement, appeals, and proceedings before the regulatory tribunal.  By reviewing pending and previously heard cases, participants deepened their understanding of court procedures, including oral argument, legal analysis and litigation strategy. The sessions also addressed ethical and procedural issues confronting attorneys practicing before international commercial courts.  QICDRC CEO Faisal bin Rashid al-Sahouti said the programme underscored the court’s commitment to legal practitioners’ professional development and familiarising them with established court procedures. He said this knowledge helps expedite litigation, saving time and effort for litigants and judges while substantially improving court efficiency and access to justice.  QICDRC continues to offer professional development and knowledge-building initiatives to strengthen legal skills, promote international best practices and advance the State of Qatar’s legal community. 

 The Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) announced that it has completed more than 50% of the new designs for its permanent facilities project, which includes the Courts Complex in Lusail City and the headquarters of the Court of Cassation in the Wadi Al Sail area, as part of the national initiative for developing justice systems.  In a statement yesterday, the SJC highlighted that the designs were developed in collaboration with the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), as the overall project aims to establish a high-end operational model for courts in line with its 2025-2030 Strategy, which supports litigation, settlement and mediation pathways, the amicable division of estates, and the pursuit of digital justice pathways, while leveraging artificial intelligence technologies to streamline procedures and deliver timely justice.  HE the President of the Supreme Judiciary Council and President of the Court of Cassation Dr Hassan bin Lahdan al-Hassan al-Mohannadi said reaching this advanced stage of the design process represents a pivotal step toward executing the Council’s vision of upgrading the judicial environment.  The project is a strategic investment that goes beyond providing modern buildings to encompass the development of an integrated judicial environment that enhances procedural efficiency and responds to future developments in the scope of services, al-Mohannadi noted.  He heaped praise on the contribution of Qatar Plan, led by HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, to identifying the site for the new Court of Cassation headquarters on Khalifa Street in the Wadi Al Sail area, further reinforcing the integration of urban development and cultural identity.  The SJC selected the winning designs through an international architectural competition launched in 2023. The designs forge a balance between Qatari and Islamic heritage and modern architectural engineering while incorporating comprehensive sustainability standards, including a three-star GSAS rating.  As part of the project, the SJC worked with Qatar Museums to refine the interior design and formed a joint technical working team to examine the building’s artistic elements, particularly Islamic ornamentation and Arabic calligraphy.  The effort underscores the importance of reinforcing Qatar’s cultural identity throughout the design while reflecting the stature of the judiciary and the symbolism of the new judicial facilities.The Courts Complex project is located in the Wadi Al Banat area of Lusail City, on a site spanning approximately 100,000sq m, with a total built-up area of 300,000sq m.  It comprises 51 buildings housing 94 courtrooms, bringing all courts and judicial committees under one roof while providing for the complete separation of public, judicial, and operational circulation.  The Court of Cassation headquarters in the Wadi Al Sail area spans a built-up area of 75,000sq m on a 70,000sq m site. It comprises three buildings housing four courtrooms and a grand courtroom accommodating 500 people, with an architectural design inspired by traditional Qatari architecture and sand dunes. 

People mostly mix between digitisation and digitalisation. However, in business matters and services it would be very important to differentiate between digitisation and digitalisation.Understanding the key differences between these two terms is essential when formulating business strategy. Also, there are some legal implications here regarding data protection, authenticity of the docs for evidence purposes and acceptance before Courts.In brief, digitisation means to convert something into a digital format, and usually refers to encoding of data and documents. While, digitalisation means to convert business processes to use digital technologies, instead of similar things or offline systems such as paper or whiteboards.In a nutshell, digitisation refers to information, while digitalisation refers to processes.Appreciating the difference is important because they are genuinely different things to business matters, each requiring different resources, approaches and tools. Whether you are using the term digitise or digitalise, make sure you are referring to the right thing to avoid confusion, misunderstandings and could be legal repercussions.Digitisation is basically the process of taking analogue information, such as documents, sounds or photographs, and converting into a digital format that can be stored and accessed on computers, mobile phones and other digital devices.In business, digitisation may involve scanning old documents into PDFs, converting printed photographs into image files, or transforming printed reports into meaningful data that can be manipulated and analysed. Some digitisation projects may include going back over years of business records and information and converting them into a digital format for easy reference and other logistical purposes. The original content may be stored or destroyed, or may degrade over time, as in the case of magnetic tapes.In other cases, it may be that any new information being captured in a business is now created and stored primarily in a digital format, with any physical forms being only secondary copies. We have to mention that, the law regulates this process of keeping the old data and storing them in magnetic tapes. This is sensitive work to be undertaken by experienced personnel and requires careful attention, as courts may ask for them.For digitalisation, there is still some debate around the exact meaning, which means that people sometimes use it to describe digitisation. However, the general consensus is that digitalisation refers to the conversion of processes or interactions into their digital equivalents. And because all business processes and interactions involve people in some way, it would be more accurate to say that digitalisation is the reorganisation of these business activities around digital technologies.Examples include moving from sending physical letters via the postal service to using email, or from having in-person meetings to using online video conferencing tools. The Zoom meetings were very helpful and useful during Covid-19 and sure will continue for practical reasons.Digitalisation of a business is also likely to be an ongoing exercise, as new technologies emerge that allow further digitalisation of processes and interactions in many times and for many purposes.I believe, the distinction between digitisation and digitalisation is clear. However, the mixture is there which makes unnecessary confusion. Dr AbdelGadir Warsama Ghalib is a corporate legal counsel. Email: [email protected]

Aspire Academy’s burgeoning padel programme has been further boosted with the opening of four world-class courts inside the iconic Aspire Academy dome.The new courts are an important step in the development of Aspire Academy’s padel programme, which was launched in 2023. A third intake of six new student-athletes will begin their journey at Aspire Academy in September when the new academic year begins.Following a training camp and tournament in Alicante, Spain, in July, many student-athletes and pre-academy players are utilising the state-of-the-art facilities to prepare for the upcoming season. The regular training timetable will resume in September.Aspire Academy’s Padel Head Coach, Mariano Amat, emphasised the importance of the new courts not just for the Academy but also beyond.“Having our own padel courts at Aspire Academy means much more than just a new facility – it consolidates a global development project that aims to become a world reference in training young padel players,” he explained.“These courts allow us to apply our methodology with consistency, give our athletes a true high-performance environment, and open the door to hosting official and international competitions in the future.”“The players’ reaction has been fantastic: they feel these courts are their home, which multiplies both their motivation and their sense of belonging.”Several Aspire Academy student-athletes have been selected to represent Qatar at the GCC Team Championships, which will take place in Doha from September 15 to 19.The players are also aiming to impress and be selected to play for Qatar at the Junior Padel World Championships in Barcelona, Spain, from September 29 to October 4.Having the courts on site means the padel players and coaches no longer need to spend time travelling to and from the nearby facilities provided at Padel In.The use of the Padel In courts was part of a two-year agreement signed in 2023, as one of the initial steps the Academy took in establishing its own padel programme, and to help lead the way in developing the sport in Qatar.In addition to the training opportunities, the collaboration resulted in the first-ever International Padel Federation (FIP)- recognised youth event in Qatar: the FIP Promises Aspire Academy Tournament.The highly successful tournament was part of the FIP’s global tour for youth padel players and was part of Aspire Academy's 20th-anniversary celebrations.Plans are already underway for Aspire Academy to organise and host another FIP event, as well as other tournaments to help develop the sport in Qatar.