Case studiesCriminal defence2025
Decade-old in-absentia judgment ordering deportation cancelled: the case had lapsed
Al Faisal acted for a resident against an in-absentia judgment from about a decade earlier, in a traffic misdemeanour case, that had never been served on him and had ordered his deportation. About a week after our opposition, the court cancelled the judgment and declared the criminal case extinguished by lapse of time, and the prosecution later confirmed that the entry is not a prior conviction.
Handled by Faysel Al-Mohannadi
The judgment
- Result
- In-absentia judgment cancelled, with its deportation order. Criminal case declared extinguished by lapse of time. The prosecution then confirmed to the criminal records department that the entry is not a prior conviction.
- Court
- Traffic Court, on opposition, then the Public Prosecution, on a rehabilitation request
- Time
- About a week from the opposition to the judgment, and about a month from our instruction to the prosecution's answer
- What was at stake
- A deportation order in a judgment that had never been served
- Our client
- A resident of Qatar
The case
About a decade before he came to us, a traffic misdemeanour case was brought against our client, a resident of Qatar. The court convicted him in absentia, and the judgment ordered his deportation.
Nothing in the file showed that the judgment was ever served on him, or that any step was taken in the case afterwards.
In 2025 he instructed us.
What was at stake
The judgment ordered deportation, and a deportation order can affect residence and travel until it is cancelled.
The case was about a decade old, but time alone does not end a case. A misdemeanour case lapses after three years only if nothing interrupts the period: any procedural step, including service of the judgment, starts it again. If anything had interrupted it, the lapse argument would fail.
What we did
Checked the record before anything else.Within days of our instruction, we pulled the case status and dates from the prosecution's e-services and asked for a copy of the case file. The file showed no service of the judgment and no later step.
Filed an opposition at once.We filed it electronically, and it was served on our client the same day: the first step in the case in years. A hearing was fixed within days.
Argued that the case had lapsed.We attended the opposition hearing with our client and filed a defence memo. It showed that more than three years had passed after the in-absentia judgment with no notification or other interrupting step (Criminal Procedure Code Arts. 14, 15 and 16), and it cited Court of Cassation ruling No. 189 of 2021.
Followed up with the prosecution on the record.Within a week of the judgment, we filed a rehabilitation request with the prosecution's sentence-enforcement department.
What the court held
The opposition was accepted in form under Criminal Procedure Code Art. 264(1). The judgment had never been served, so the time to oppose had not run out.
A misdemeanour case lapses after three years (Art. 14(1)). Procedural steps interrupt the period (Art. 15), and nothing suspends it (Art. 16). The trial court fixes when the period starts and how long it runs. Here, more than three years had passed after the in-absentia judgment with no notification and no other step, until the opposition was served.
The court cancelled the in-absentia judgment (Art. 270) and declared the criminal case extinguished by lapse of time. The deportation order fell with the judgment.
On the later request, the prosecution reviewed the rehabilitation provisions (Arts. 379 to 394). It told the criminal records department that the entry, a case extinguished by lapse of time, is not a prior conviction that calls for rehabilitation.
Why this result matters
An old in-absentia judgment that was never served can still be open to challenge. Here the dates decided it: more than three years with no step ended the case, and the judgment, with its deportation order, was cancelled within about a week of the opposition.
If you are in a similar position
- If an old in-absentia judgment in a misdemeanour case was never served on you, check the dates first. Three years with no step in the case may mean it has lapsed.
- Do not rely on an online status alone. Ask for the court file and check it for service of the judgment and any later step, because any step starts the period again.
- Once the judgment is cancelled, ask the prosecution straight away to confirm the record.
Who handled it
Faysel Al-Mohannadilawyer admitted before the Court of Cassation
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