Are Family Court hearings public?

Hearings are public by default, but the court can hold them in private, on its own initiative or at a party's request, to protect the family's privacy, and judgment is pronounced in public (Judicial Authority Law, Article 17). Publishing the names or pictures of parties to family cases is a criminal offence (Penal Code, Article 203).

How long does a family case take?

The law sets no fixed duration: it depends on reconciliation, the evidence and the type of case. The Court of First Instance must decide promptly and cannot adjourn more than once for the same reason (Procedure Law, Article 65 bis), and temporary orders on maintenance and custody are available meanwhile (Family Law, Article 102).

Can I attend a hearing from outside Qatar?

The law allows hearings and witness evidence to be held electronically under Supreme Judiciary Council rules (Judicial Authority Law, Article 17), and a lawyer can represent you under a power of attorney. Ask the court whether this is possible in your case.

A man and a woman walking separately up the steps of a court building.

Divorce & custody9 min read

How the Family Court works in Qatar: from filing to judgment

Faysel Al-Mohannadi, lawyer, at Al Faisal Law Firm in Doha

Faysel Al-MohannadiLawyer admitted before the Court of Cassation · Reviewed on 18 October 2026

Short answer

Qatar's Family Court is made up of family circuits of the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal (Family Law, issuing Article 2). Cases are registered online through the Supreme Judiciary Council's e-services. The judge tries to reconcile the parties, hearings can be held in private to protect the family, and the Enforcement Court enforces judgments.

What is the Family Court, and which cases does it hear?

The Family Court is the set of circuits of the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal that decide family and inheritance disputes (Family Law, Law No. 22 of 2006, issuing Article 2). A single-judge circuit can decide the matters the Supreme Judiciary Council assigns to it.

Level	What it hears	Source
Partial Family Court (one judge)	The family cases the Supreme Judiciary Council has assigned to it	Family Law, issuing Article 2; Council Decision No. 23 of 2006
Full Family Court (three judges)	Other family and inheritance cases	Civil and Commercial Procedure Law, Article 24; Council Decision No. 23 of 2006
Family circuits of the Court of Appeal	Appeals against first-instance judgments, where the law allows	Family Law, issuing Article 2; Judicial Authority Law, Article 13
Court of Cassation	Challenges to appeal judgments for breach or misapplication of the law, or a defect that affected the judgment	Law No. 12 of 2005, Article 1

The Family Court hears cases such as divorce, khula and judicial separation, maintenance, custody and visits, paternity and inheritance. Matters both parties agree on, such as documenting a divorce by mutual consent or a khula, go through the Council's Family Documentation Department instead. Which law applies to non-Qataris depends on Article 4 of the Family Law, as our guide to divorce for residents of Qatar explains. Our guides to khula and child custody cover those cases in detail.

Is there a reconciliation step before judgment?

Yes. The law requires the judge to try reconciliation in the main separation cases, and allows two arbitrators to be appointed from the spouses' families or from outside them:

Case	What the law requires	Article
Talaq	The judge tries to reconcile the couple before accepting the husband's declaration	113
Khula without the husband's agreement	The court appoints two arbitrators to work towards reconciliation for up to six months	122
Separation for harm	The judge works to reconcile the couple before ruling	129
Discord	The judge appoints two arbitrators, who look into the causes and report. If reconciliation fails, the judge may order separation based on their report	130 to 133

The Supreme Judiciary Council says the Family Court encourages settlement before litigation and holds early reconciliation sessions. Couples may be directed to the Family Reconciliation Office or the Family Consulting Centre (Wifaq).

If the parties reach an agreement, a settlement record certified by the court or another competent body is an enforceable instrument, as long as the obligation is clear and specific. An enforcement request must be filed within three years of the record (Judicial Enforcement Law, Law No. 4 of 2024, Articles 6, 25 and 26).

How do you register a family case?

Family cases are registered online through the Supreme Judiciary Council's e-services portal. A party can register a case personally or through a lawyer.

Create a National Authentication System (Tawtheeq) account at nas.gov.qa, then log in to the courts' e-system and choose a "personal" or "lawyer" account.
From the main menu, choose "Register cases and requests", then "Register a family case".
Add the defendant by Qatar ID or passport number.
Choose the case sub-type, subject and claims, then add the facts, requests and attachments.
Review the summary and submit. Court staff review the request and return it to you for payment and registration.

Personal status cases carry a fixed court fee of QAR 100, and maintenance cases carry none (Civil and Commercial Procedure Law, Article 537). The statement of claim is served on the other party. It must give the parties' names, addresses and phone numbers, and set out the subject, the requests and their grounds (Article 31).

What happens at hearings, and are they private?

Court hearings are public by default, but the court can hold them in private, on its own initiative or at a party's request, to protect the family's privacy. Judgments are always pronounced in public (Judicial Authority Law, Law No. 8 of 2023, Article 17).

Hearings and witness evidence can be held electronically, under rules set by the Supreme Judiciary Council (Article 17).
Arabic is the language of the courts. Anyone who does not speak it can be heard through a sworn interpreter (Article 18).
Publishing news linked to the names or pictures of the parties in marriage, paternity, divorce, separation, maintenance or custody cases is a criminal offence (Penal Code, Article 203).
The Court of First Instance must decide cases promptly. A case cannot be adjourned more than once for the same reason, and an adjournment cannot exceed two weeks (Procedure Law, Article 65 bis).
While the case is pending, the judge orders temporary measures for the maintenance of the wife and children, custody and visits (Family Law, Article 102), and decides visiting and travel requests urgently (Article 187).

Through the portal you can check the hearing schedule, file written submissions, ask to bring a hearing forward or postpone it, and view a certified copy of the judgment.

How do appeals and enforcement work?

Stage	Rule	Source
Appeal	30 days unless the law says otherwise, and 20 days in urgent matters. Time runs from the date of judgment, or from service for a party who missed every hearing and filed no submission	Procedure Law, Articles 157 and 164
Judgments that cannot be appealed	The law says Full Court judgments on visiting a child, travel with a child, the child's housing and the custody fee are not open to appeal	Procedure Law, Article 24, as amended by Law No. 3 of 2019
Cassation	60 days, for breach or misapplication of the law or a defect, by a petition signed by a lawyer admitted before the Court of Cassation. It does not stop enforcement unless the court orders it	Law No. 12 of 2005, Articles 1, 4 and 8
Enforcement	The Enforcement Court alone. The request is filed online through "Register a civil/family enforcement request"	Judicial Enforcement Law, Articles 2 and 3

Family judgments are enforced by the methods in the Judicial Enforcement Law, with police help if needed, and enforcement can be repeated as often as required (Article 45).
In custody and visiting cases, the judge protects the family's dignity and the child's interest. Handovers and visits take place in a suitable room at the court or another safe place the judge chooses (Articles 46 and 47).
A judgment ordering a wife to return to the marital home is not enforced by force (Article 48).
Some orders take effect straight away, such as the order on maintenance, custody and visits after a talaq (Family Law, Article 114) and a visiting judgment (Article 186).

Appeals and cassation petitions in family cases are also registered online. Check the deadline as soon as the judgment is issued: a missed deadline ends the right to challenge (Procedure Law, Article 159). Our guide to maintenance in Qatar explains enforcement against assets and salary.

What should you prepare for the Family Court?

What to prepare	Why
National Authentication System and courts e-system accounts	To register cases and requests online
Qatar ID or passport for both parties, with national address and phone number	To identify and serve the parties
Marriage contract and children's birth certificates	To prove the marriage and the children in custody and maintenance claims
Salary certificate, tenancy contract, school and medical bills	Maintenance follows the payer's means and the recipient's situation (Family Law, Article 62)
Evidence for your claims, such as messages, reports and witness names	Harm and other grounds are proved by evidence (Article 129)
Notarised power of attorney	If a lawyer or agent acts for you
Arabic translation of foreign documents	Arabic is the language of the courts (Judicial Authority Law, Article 18)

Put all your financial claims in one case. Anything left out cannot be claimed in a new case until a year after the first-instance judgment (Family Law, Article 59). A short, dated summary of what happened and what you are asking the court for also helps.

When should you speak to a lawyer?

Many people register their own case through the portal. Early legal advice can still help when:

You are not sure which law applies, because you differ in nationality or religion, or married outside Qatar.
You have received notice of a family case, or been asked to attend a reconciliation or arbitration session.
You need an urgent decision on maintenance, custody, visits or travel with a child.
A judgment has been issued and you are thinking about challenging it, or you do not know whether it can be appealed and by when.
A judgment in your favour has not been carried out.
One of the parties lives outside Qatar.
You fear for your safety or your children's. Safety comes first: call the emergency number, 999.

What the law says

This guide relies on Qatar's Family Law, issued by Law No. 22 of 2006 (issuing Article 2 and Articles 4, 59, 62, 102, 113, 114, 122, 129 to 133, 186 and 187); the Judicial Authority Law, Law No. 8 of 2023 (Articles 13, 17 and 18); the Civil and Commercial Procedure Law, Law No. 13 of 1990 (Articles 24, 31, 65 bis, 157, 159, 164 and 537); Law No. 12 of 2005 on cassation appeals (Articles 1, 4 and 8); the Judicial Enforcement Law, Law No. 4 of 2024 (Articles 2, 3, 6, 25, 26 and 45 to 48); and Article 203 of the Penal Code. The texts were checked on Al Meezan on 18 October 2026.

Read on Al Meezan

Questions people ask

You can register a case yourself through a personal account on the courts' portal. A cassation petition, however, must be signed by a lawyer admitted before the Court of Cassation (Law No. 12 of 2005, Article 4).