QATAR Law and Practice Contributed by: Hani Al Naddaf and Maysa Sleiman, Al Tamimi & Company
Grounds for Refusing Recognition and Enforcement of an Arbitral Award
• The court will first review the application to ensure all formal requirements are met, and will verify: (a) the jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal; (b) that the award does not conflict with Qatari public policy or morals; (c) that the subject matter is arbitrable under Qa - tari law; and (d) that the award is not subject to an annulment proceeding. • Following such initial review, the Enforcement Judge will allow the enforcement case to be regis - tered. The debtor will be served with a notification from the Court and given a period (ten working days) to comply with award order or to provide evidence of non-compliance. • If the debtor does not comply, the Enforcement Court may take a range of enforcement measures, such as attachment and sale of assets, travel bans or imprisonment, in accordance with the JEL. 4.5 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce Arbitral Awards The fee for registering and initiating an enforcement case is QAR1,000. The typical timeline for the enforce - ment judge to review the application and complete the registration process ranges from four to six weeks. If the application is refused, the decision can be appealed within 30 days and the process before the Court of Appeal may take around three months. If the application is accepted, the enforcement process will start, including identifying, freezing and selling the defendant’s assets. This would take around two to four months, depending on the nature of the assets. 4.6 Challenging Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Expiry of the Annulment Period An application to enforce an arbitral award seated in Qatar will not be accepted or received if it is submitted before the expiry of the time period allowed for filing an annulment claim (Article 17 of the JEL). Accord - ing to the Qatari Arbitration Law, an annulment action must be filed within one month from the date of noti - fication of the award, unless the parties have agreed in writing to extend this deadline.
An award may be resisted on the specific refusal grounds listed in Article 35 of the Arbitration Law. These grounds track the New York Convention of 1958, whereas recognition or enforcement of any arbitral award may not be refused, regardless of the state in which it was issued, except in the following two cases as stipulated under Article 35 of the Qatari Arbitration law. The party against whom the enforcement of the award is sought can submit evidence proving one of the fol - lowing cases. • One of the parties to the arbitration agreement at the time of its conclusion was incapacitated or incapacitated in accordance with the law governing their capacity, or the arbitration agreement is inva - lid, according to the law the parties have agreed to apply to the agreement or, if they do not agree, in accordance with the law of the state in which the judgment was rendered. • The party against whom the judgment is sought has not been properly notified of the appointment of an arbitrator or the arbitration proceedings, or has been unable to present their defence for any other reason beyond their control. • The arbitration award has ruled on matters not covered by the arbitration agreement or exceeded the limits of this agreement. However, if the parts of the award relating to matters subject to arbitration can be separated from the parts relating to matters not subject to arbitration, the parts of the arbitra - tion award that have been decided on matters covered by the arbitration agreement or that have not exceeded this agreement may be recognised or enforced. • The formation of the arbitral tribunal, the appoint - ment of arbitrators or the arbitration proceedings were made contrary to the law or the agreement of the parties or, in the absence of an agreement, contrary to the law of the country in which the arbi - tration took place. • The arbitration award is no longer binding on the parties, or has been set aside or suspended by a court of the state in which the award was rendered or in accordance with its law.
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