Qatar Law Forum of Global Leaders in Law

Qatar Law Forum of Global Leaders in Law
Type	Non-profit organization
Headquarters	Doha, Qatar, and London, United Kingdom
Region served	Worldwide
Director	Malik R. Dahlan
Website	www.QatarLawForum.com

Last updated May 03, 2019

The Qatar Law Forum of Global Leaders in Law is a non-profit institution established under the patronage of the Government of Qatar with the purpose of bringing together prominent members of the global legal community, in addition to senior figures in the fields of economics, and politics. The inaugural Law Forum was held in Doha from 29–31 May 2009.

Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country located in Western Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Whether the sovereign state should be regarded as a constitutional monarchy or an absolute monarchy is disputed. Its sole land border is with neighbouring Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) monarchy Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its territory surrounded by the Persian Gulf. An arm of the Persian Gulf separates Qatar from the nearby Bahrain.

Doha is the capital and most populous city of the State of Qatar. Doha has a population of 1,850,000 in the city proper with the population close to 2.4 million. The city is located on the coast of the Persian Gulf in the east of the country. It is Qatar's fastest growing city, with over 80% of the nation's population living in Doha or its surrounding suburbs, and it is also the economic centre of the country.

History

In 2008, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced plans to hold an international conference of what it termed "Global Leaders in Law", defined as prominent jurists, academics, and legal practitioners from legal jurisdictions representing every continent, and region in the world. The stated purpose of the conference was for delegates to discuss pressing matters of international legal, economic, and political concern, with a particular focus on addressing such issues in the context of the Arab and Muslim worlds.

These initial plans were later expanded upon to encompass a wider mandate of fostering inter-jurisdictional legal dialogue and supporting a "Global Commitment to the Rule of Law". The spectrum of delegates was widened to include economists, bankers, international policy experts, and members of regional and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Lord Woolf, the former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, and Sir William Blair, a prominent High Court Judge in England and Wales, and expert on Islamic finance, were appointed as the Law Forum's Co-Conveners.

Harry Kenneth Woolf, Baron Woolf, is a British life peer, and retired barrister and judge. He was Master of the Rolls from 1996 until 2000 and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 2000 until 2005. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 made him the first Lord Chief Justice to be President of the Courts of England and Wales. He was a Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong from 2003 to 2012. He now sits in the House of Lords as a crossbencher.

The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the Head of the Judiciary of England and Wales and the President of the Courts of England and Wales.

Sir William James Lynton Blair is a retired British judge. He was previously a Queen's Counsel, specialising in domestic and international banking and finance law. He is the elder brother of former British prime minister Tony Blair.

The organising process for the Law Forum was overseen by Institution Quraysh for Law & Policy (iQ), a Qatar-based transnational law firm and think-tank, and the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Permanent Committee for Organizing Conferences. iQ's Principal and Chief Lawyer, Malik R. Dahlan, was appointed as the Law Forum's Director.

Institution Quraysh for Law & Policy, also known as iQ, is a transnational law firm, and think-tank with offices in Doha, Jeddah, and London. The institution's primary area of focus is the Arab World, in particular the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council. It advises regional, and international corporations operating in the region, in addition to policy work with national governments, sovereign entities, and international non-governmental organisations.

A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other matters in which legal advice and other assistance are sought.

Prof. Dr. Malik Rabea Dahlan is an international lawyer, mediator and academic specializing in international law and policy. He has founded a number of policy, research and philanthropic organizations, and has written and advised on legislative affairs, defence, energy policies, and foreign relations. He is also a UN Constitutional Expert, Oil and Gas selected by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq. He is currently a chaired professor of international law and public policy in London.

Inaugural Law Forum

The inaugural assembly of the Law Forum took place in the Qatari capital, Doha, from 29–31 May 2009, and was attended by more than 500 delegates from 65 different legal jurisdictions. The event was primarily made up of panel sessions covering a range of legal, economic, and political matters:

The implications of globalisation on justice
The role of international judicial bodies
Shari’ah and legal reform in the Arab World
The Rule of Law
Islamic finance
Sports law
Local and international legal practice
Corporate centres and financial markets
Global governance
Regulatory law and the Credit Crunch
Law and women
The new Qatar international judiciary
New trends in legal education development
International dispute resolution, and the place of law and economics

International judicial institutions can be divided into courts, arbitral tribunals and quasi-judicial institutions. Courts are permanent bodies, with near the same composition for each case. Arbitral tribunals, by contrast, are constituted anew for each case. Both courts and arbitral tribunals can make binding decisions. Quasi-judicial institutions, by contrast, make rulings on cases, but these rulings are not in themselves legally binding; the main example is the individual complaints mechanisms available under the various UN human rights treaties.

Sharia, Islamic law or Sharia law is a religious law forming part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam, particularly the Quran and the Hadith. In Arabic, the term sharīʿah refers to God's immutable divine law and is contrasted with fiqh, which refers to its human scholarly interpretations. The manner of its application in modern times has been a subject of dispute between Muslim fundamentalists and modernists.

Regulatory law refers to law promulgated by an executive branch agency under a delegation from a legislature. Discussed at Regulation (law) and Primary and secondary legislation. Regulatory law contrasts to statutory law promulgated by the legislative branch, and common law or case law promulgated by the judicial branch.

Participants

In addition to the attendance of senior members of the Qatari political and legal establishment, including the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al-Thani,^[1] and the Qatari Attorney General, Dr. Ali bin Fetais Al-Marri,^[2] participants in the inaugural Law Forum included serving chief justices from 12 different legal jurisdictions, the President of the U.K. Supreme Court, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers,^[3] the President of the International Court of Justice, Hisashi Owada,^[4] the President of the European Court of Human Rights, Jean-Paul Costa,^[4] the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo,^[3] and senior members of the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.

Future plans

Qatar's Assistant Foreign Minister for Follow-Up Affairs, Mohammed Al-Rumaihi, and the Law Forum's Director, Malik R. Dahlan, have stated that the Qatar Law Forum of Global Leaders in Law intends to hold its second full assembly in Doha in late 2011 or early 2012.

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Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani King of Qatar from 1995

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Kazakhstan – Qatar relations are the bilateral relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the State of Qatar. Diplomatic relations were established in 1993. Kazakhstan has an embassy in Doha. Qatar also has an embassy Astana.

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References

↑ "Under the patronage of H.H. the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, H.E. the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor al Thani opened this evening the Qatar Law Forum, at the Ritz Carlton Hotel". Organizing Conferences Committee at Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 30 May 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
↑ Shehan Mashood (3 January 2013). "Qatar's attorney general addresses the Qatar Law Forum in London". The Edge. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
1 2 "Participants". Qatar Law Forum. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
1 2 "Top experts gather for Qatar Law Forum". Organizing Conferences Committee at Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 30 May 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2015.

External links

Qatar Law Forum of Global Leaders in Law Homepage

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[1] "Under the patronage of H.H. the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, H.E. the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor al Thani opened this evening the Qatar Law Forum, at the Ritz Carlton Hotel". Organizing Conferences Committee at Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 30 May 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2015.

[2] Shehan Mashood (3 January 2013). "Qatar's attorney general addresses the Qatar Law Forum in London". The Edge. Retrieved 23 July 2015.

[participants-3] 1 2 "Participants". Qatar Law Forum. Retrieved 23 July 2015.

[qc1-4] 1 2 "Top experts gather for Qatar Law Forum". Organizing Conferences Committee at Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 30 May 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2015.