VZCZCXRO8977
PP RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHDO #0733/01 2931315
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 191315Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY DOHA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8314
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 000733 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KMPI INRB QA
SUBJECT: QATAR TAKES IMPORTANT STEP TOWARD DEVELOPMENT OF 
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW 
 
--  Qatar's Amir signed a decree over the summer establishing 
a Supreme Constitutional Court which will have jurisdiction 
over all matters arising from disputes over the 
constitutionality of Qatari laws. 
 
-- The court will also settle all disputes over the 
jurisdictions of the various courts, resolve all conflicts 
between the judgments of lower courts, and interpret statutes 
upon the request of the Prime Minister or Chairman of the 
Advisory Council.  The new court will consist of a Chief 
Judge and six other judges, all appointed by Amiri decree. 
 
--  The Amir named Mubarak Al Asiri as the Court's first 
Chief Judge.  Al-Asiri, considered tough minded and 
independent, has extensive experience in the Qatari 
judiciary, serving most recently as the head of the special 
committee within the Cassation Court which heard 
constitutional matters. 
 
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(SBU) COMMENTS 
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--  The establishment of the Constitutional Court is an 
important step in the creation of a system of constitutional 
jurisprudence in Qatar and should elevate the Constitution 
itself as an instrument which defines and protects the rights 
of Qataris. 
 
-- The court has the potential to strengthen rule of law in 
Qatar.  But because the Chief Judge is appointed by the Amir 
and the court is dependent on the Amir for funding, its 
ultimate independence depends on the Amir's willingness to 
accept the court's rulings, and the court's deftness in 
dealing with cases that may appear to challenge the Amir's 
perogatives. 
 
END KEY POINTS AND COMMENTS 
 
¶1. (U) On June 18, Amir Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani signed a 
decree creating the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC). 
Before the decree, a special committee of judges within the 
Cassation Court considered constitutional issues. The 
Cassation Court will continue to wield great power within the 
Qatari judiciary, since few matters will likely be appealed 
to the SCC, but it will cease to be the final judicial 
arbiter in Qatar. 
 
¶2. (U) The SCC will have sweeping powers, including exclusive 
jurisdiction over constitutional questions.  If a court or 
other judicial body, in the course of its review, believes 
that the constitutionality of a law must be reviewed in order 
to settle the case, the decree requires that the lower court 
immediately halt its deliberations and refer the matter to 
the SCC for decision.  Similiarly, a litigant in a case 
before a lower court under the new system may question the 
constitutionality of a statute and initiate an interlocutory 
appeal to the SCC. 
 
¶3. (U) The SCC will also settle disputes over the 
jurisdiction of various Qatari courts.  If the parties to a 
dispute are in disagreement as to which court has 
jurisdiction over the case, one or both may appeal to the SCC 
for a ruling.  When such an appeal is taken, all action on 
the case must stop until the SCC issues its decision. 
 
¶4.  (U) The SCC will settle all conflicts arising from the 
rulings of the lower courts, per the new decree.  In the 
event that two or more lower courts have issued contradictory 
rulings on a single point of law, the SCC must decide which 
interpretation is controlling.  In addition, the decree 
creating the SCC and defining its jurisdiction gives it great 
potential power over the interpretation of statutes.  If the 
Prime Minister or the Chairman of the Advisory Council finds 
that a statute requires interpretation in order to be 
properly implemented, either authority can petition the SCC 
for a ruling. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In the decree creating the Supreme Constitutional 
Court, the Amir named Mubarak Bin Khalifa Al Asiri as its 
first Chief Judge.  Al Asiri is a member of a prominent 
Qatari family and a career jurist who first served on the 
bench as a judge in the Minor Criminal Court at the age of 
¶26.  Since that time, he has scaled the ladder of the Qatari 
judicial system, serving as an appellate court judge, and 
most recently, as the chairman of the special committee 
within the Court of Cassation that considered constitutional 
matters. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Former Qatari Justice Minister Dr. Naguib Al Naeimi 
told Poloff in August that Al Asiri is an extremely capable 
judge who can be tough-minded and independent.  However, he 
 
DOHA 00000733  002 OF 002 
 
 
pointed out that under the Amiri decree the members of the 
SCC are appointed by the Amir and subject to removal by him. 
The Court depends upon the Amir for funding.  Consequently, 
the SCC is not an independent body.  Nevertheless, Qatar has 
taken a first and important step, in Naeimi's view, toward 
the development of an "authoritative tradition of 
constitutional jurisprudence."  According to Naeimi, Al Asiri 
has both the personality and the legal ability to elevate the 
Court to a position of prestige and power in Qatar. In the 
process, he predicts, the Constitution itself as an 
instrument which defines and protects the rights of Qataris 
will also be elevated. 
 
 
 
 
LeBaron