Enforcing a foreign court judgment in Qatar

Can a foreign judgment be enforced in Qatar?

Yes. Foreign judgments, orders and official instruments are enforceable instruments under Article 6 of the Judicial Enforcement Law, issued by Law No. 4 of 2024. The Enforcement Court alone decides requests to enforce them and the disputes connected with those requests (Article 3).

These cases used to fall under Articles 379 to 383 of the Civil and Commercial Procedure Law, Law No. 13 of 1990. The Judicial Enforcement Law repealed the whole of Book Three of the Procedure Law, including those articles (Article 4 of the issuing law). The rules now sit in Articles 13 to 20 of the new law, and the Procedure Law still applies where the new law has no specific provision (Article 3 of the issuing law).

What conditions must a foreign judgment meet?

The court orders enforcement of a foreign judgment or order only after checking the conditions in Article 13. In substance they are the conditions that used to sit in Article 380 of the Procedure Law:

Similar rules apply to enforceable official instruments made abroad, such as notarised deeds. They must be official and enforceable under the law of the country where they were made, and contain nothing contrary to public order or morals in Qatar (Article 14).

What does reciprocity mean?

Reciprocity means Qatar enforces a country's judgments on the same conditions that country applies to Qatari judgments (Article 13). If its law is strict about enforcing Qatari judgments, the same strict conditions apply to its judgments in Qatar.

In practice, the applicant usually needs to show how the other country's law treats Qatari judgments. Article 15 requires the application to include a certified Arabic translation and a certified statement of the procedure for enforcing the judgment in the country that issued it. Where Qatar and that country have a treaty, the treaty takes priority (Article 16).

Do treaties change these rules?

Yes. The rules above do not affect treaties and agreements between Qatar and other countries (Article 16). For judgments from the Gulf, the key one is the 1995 GCC Convention on the Enforcement of Judgments, Letters Rogatory and Judicial Notices, which Qatar ratified by Decree No. 16 of 1996:

• It covers civil, commercial and administrative judgments, and personal status judgments, that are final, from the courts of any member state (Article 1).
• It sets when the court of the issuing state has jurisdiction, including the defendant's domicile, the place a contract was or should have been performed, or the defendant's acceptance of that court (Article 4).
• The enforcing court only checks the Convention's conditions and does not re-examine the merits (Article 7).
• Refusal grounds are limited. They include conflict with Islamic Sharia, the constitution or public order, a default judgment without proper notice, and an earlier judgment or pending case on the same dispute between the same parties (Article 2).
• It extends to settlements recorded before judicial bodies, enforceable instruments and arbitral awards (Articles 10 to 12).

Qatar has also ratified bilateral legal and judicial cooperation agreements with a number of countries. If the judgment comes from outside the GCC, first check whether an agreement between that country and Qatar covers the enforcement of judgments. If not, the Article 13 conditions apply.

What about foreign arbitral awards?

Arbitral awards follow a separate route. They are binding and enforceable whatever country they were made in (Article 34 of Arbitration Law No. 2 of 2017 on civil and commercial arbitration). Qatar acceded to the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards by Decree No. 29 of 2003.

• The application is made in writing to the enforcement judge, or to the enforcement judge of the QFC Civil and Commercial Court if the parties agreed. It must include a copy of the arbitration agreement, the original award or a signed copy in its original language, and a certified Arabic translation (Articles 1 and 34(2)).
• The application is not accepted until the time limit for an annulment claim has passed (Arbitration Law Article 34(3); Judicial Enforcement Law Article 17).
• Enforcement can be refused only in the cases listed in Article 35. These include an invalid arbitration agreement, a party not notified or unable to present its case, an award beyond the scope of the agreement, and an award set aside or suspended in its home country. The judge may also refuse on their own initiative if the dispute cannot be arbitrated or enforcement would breach public order.
• An order granting or refusing enforcement can be challenged within 30 days of its date (Article 35(3)).

These provisions do not list reciprocity as a condition for arbitral awards: they limit the refusal grounds "regardless of the country in which it was made" (Arbitration Law Article 35; Judicial Enforcement Law Article 18).

What is the procedure, and which documents are needed?

The application goes to the Enforcement Court on the court's form, and can be filed electronically under the Supreme Judicial Council's rules (Articles 28 and 108).

1. 1

   Collect the documents in the country of the judgment, have them attested there and by the Qatari mission, and approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Qatar.

2. 2

   Have the judgment and documents translated into Arabic by a certified translator.

3. 3

   File the application with the Enforcement Court and pay the fee; it is registered and checked (Article 29).

4. 4

   The court checks the conditions. It normally decides without a hearing, but may set one and notify the parties (Article 35).

5. 5

   If enforcement is ordered, the other party is notified and given ten working days to comply, and then enforcement follows the steps in our guide to enforcing a judgment (Article 31).

When should you speak to a lawyer?

The outcome often turns on the documents gathered in the issuing country before filing, so early advice helps. Signs it is worth asking:

• The judgment comes from a country with no agreement with Qatar, and you need to show reciprocity.
• It is a default judgment, or you have no proof that the other side was notified.
• The judgment can still be appealed in its home country, or a Qatari court has ruled on the same dispute.
• You hold an arbitral award and need to know the time limit and the competent judge.
• You are concerned the debtor may move assets in Qatar before enforcement.
• A foreign judgment against you is being enforced in Qatar.

Questions people ask