15 December 2021 • 12 minute read

Qatar's New Mediation Law: Scope, Summary and Advantages

This article discusses Qatar’s new Mediation Law. Qatar Law No. 20/2021 on the Issuance of the Law on Mediation in the Settlement of Civil and Commercial Disputes (the Mediation Law) was issued on 4 November 2021. We set out below the scope, a summary and the notable advantages of Qatar’s new Mediation Law.

Scope of the Mediation Law

Article 2 of the Mediation Law sets out its scope. It states that the Mediation Law shall apply to mediations conducted in Qatar (unless the parties agree otherwise) and where the parties agree to apply the Mediation Law to their dispute.

In addition, the Mediation Law applies where the court requests the parties to settle their dispute through mediation (subject to the agreement of the parties). However, under Article 15 of the Mediation Law, if either party objects to mediation, the court case will continue. This underscores that mediation can only be conducted by agreement of the parties under the Mediation Law.

Article 3 of the Mediation Law set outs the situations where the Mediation Law does not apply. These include urgent and temporary lawsuits; disputes involving Qatar energy; disputes related to tax assessments; matters in which conciliation is not possible and/or where there is an arbitration or any other alternative dispute resolution agreement in place (unless the parties agree otherwise).

Summary of the key elements of the Mediation Law

The Mediation Law underscores that both parties must agree to mediation and that no party can be compelled to mediate disputes, absent agreement to do so. The Mediation Law contains 33 articles in total that govern and regulate mediation agreements and mediation proceedings, including the:

Requirements of a mediation agreement;
Identity, requirements and number of mediators;
Selection, termination and/or replacement of the mediator(s);
Role of the mediator(s);
Confidentiality of the mediation;
Requirements of the settlement agreement reached as a result of mediation;
Termination of the mediation proceedings;
Liability of the mediator(s); and
Role of the competent court in relation to mediation proceedings.

The above provisions of the Mediation Law are summarized below.

A mediation agreement is defined under Article 1 of the Mediation Law as a written agreement between the parties to use mediation to resolve their dispute. The requirements of the mediation agreement are set out in Article 6 of the Mediation Law, which requires that the mediation agreement be in writing. Notably, however, the mediation agreement need not be signed. Under Article 6(1), the mediation agreement can be in the form of electronic messages, or in any other form that shows proof in writing. While this may encourage mediation, it may also give rise to objections to mediation and attempts to deny the validity of the mediation agreement.

In addition, Article 6(2) states that a reference in a contract to a separate document that contains a mediation agreement will also be considered as a mediation agreement, provided that the provision is explicit in stating that the mediation agreement is part of the contract.

Article 5 of the Mediation Law states that mediators can be individuals or corporate entities. It also sets out the minimum standards for each. For individuals, they must be fully competent, be of good conduct and reputation, be known for integrity, impartiality and expertise, and not have been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude or dishonesty. For corporations, they must be a company or organization for public benefit and not have been declared bankrupt.

With respect to the number of mediators, Articles 4 and 8 of the Mediation Law require that there be an odd number of mediators (which can be one or more). In terms of the selection, termination and/or replacement of mediator(s), several articles of the Mediation Law are pertinent.

Under Article 8 of the Mediation Law, the parties can choose (one or more) mediators from a registry of mediators (which will be established pursuant to Article 7 of the Mediation Law). Alternatively, if the parties are not able to agree on the selection of the mediator, Article 8 also permits them to request the competent court to appoint a mediator from the registry. Upon request, the court can also recuse the mediator under Article 11(3) of the Mediation Law and/or terminate the mediator (under Article 13), in the event that the mediator is unable to perform the tasks or there is unjustified delay in the mediation process. Article 12 of the Mediation Law provides for the replacement of a mediator with an alternative mediator.

The role of the mediator is explained under Article 23 of the Mediation Law, which provides that the mediator shall take into account the interest of the parties, impartially and independently, and the need to resolve the dispute in the shortest possible period. In addition, Article 23 permits the mediator to negotiate and hold meetings with the parties jointly or separately and requires the mediator to maintain confidential information disclosed by any of the parties. This may assist the mediator in enabling the parties to resolve the dispute between them.

Notably, the Mediation Law designates mediation proceedings as confidential and permits fines to be imposed in the event of breach of confidentiality. Specifically, Article 30 of the Mediation Law provides that all deliberations, discussions, offers, negotiations and documents related to the mediation are confidential and any unauthorized disclosure or violation of this confidentiality is subject to a fine of at least twenty thousand Qatari riyals.

With respect to the liability of mediators, Article 14 of the Mediation Law states that a mediator will not be held liable for the exercise of mediation functions, unless there was bad faith, collusion or gross negligence.

The Mediation Law also specifies the requirements of any settlement agreement reached as a result of the mediation. In this respect, Article 24 states that the settlement agreement shall be in writing and shall be prepared by the mediator within seven days of reaching settlement of the dispute. In addition, the settlement agreement must identify the parties, the mediator and any experts that were appointed; a summary of the dispute; and a detailed statement of the settlement terms agreed between the parties. For the enforcement of the settlement agreement, it must be signed by the parties and the mediator. Furthermore, Article 25 of the Mediation Law requires the mediator to deposit an original version of both the settlement agreement and the agreement for appointing the mediator and the mediator’s approval of the task assigned with the office of the court clerk.

With respect to the termination of mediation proceedings, Article 28 provides that the mediation proceedings will be considered terminated upon the signature of the parties of a settlement agreement; a notification by one of the parties to the mediator that it does not wish to continue with the mediation; expiration of the period prescribed for the mediation proceedings without resolution of the dispute; and early termination of the proceedings by the mediator if it is determined that it is not feasible to continue.

Finally, the Mediation Law also sets out the role of the competent court in relation to mediation proceedings in Qatar. In particular, the Mediation Law empowers the court to:

Appoint a mediator under Article 8;
Recuse a mediator under Article 11(3);
Terminate the mediator under Article 13;
Request the parties to resolve their dispute through mediation under Article 15 (subject to the agreement of the parties);
Refer a dispute to mediation under Article 16 (subject to agreement of the parties);
Dismiss a court case (and impose a fine on the plaintiff) where there is a mediation agreement in place under Article 18;
Impose a fine between one and twenty thousand Qatari riyals on a party that refuses to comply with a settlement agreement and require that party to pay compensation to the other party under Article 19; and
Determine the mediator’s fees in the event of disagreement between the parties under Article 21.

Notable Advantages of the Mediation Law in Encouraging Mediation in Qatar

It is likely that the Mediation Law will encourage parties to settle (or at least consider settling) their disputes through mediation in Qatar. Several provisions of the Mediation Law provide clear advantages to mediation. For example:

Deters parties from seeking to sidestep a mediation agreement: notably, under Article 18 of the Mediation Law, if a plaintiff commences a case in court for which there is already a mediation agreement, then the court: (a) shall dismiss the case (if the defendant submits a plea of the same); and (b) can impose a fine on the plaintiff equal to double the fees for filing the lawsuit. This is clearly intended to deter parties from seeking to sidestep a mediation agreement by filing a lawsuit and encourages mediation in doing so.

Fines imposed for refusal to abide with of settlement agreement reached in mediation: also noteworthy, under Article 19 of the Mediation Law, where one of the parties refuses to abide by the settlement agreement that was reached as a result of the mediation, the competent court can impose a fine on the defaulting party between one and twenty thousand Qatari riyals, which includes compensation to the counterparty for expenses and fees. Similarly, under Article 27, the court can impose a fine on a plaintiff that files a lawsuit related to the subject matter of a settlement agreement between twenty and fifty thousand Qatari riyals. These provisions are clearly intended to deter parties from reneging on a settlement agreement and encourages mediation in doing so.
Exemption from payment of judicial fees: another way in which the Mediation Law seeks to encourage mediation is that if a lawsuit is settled by means of mediation, the party responsible for paying the judicial fees is exempted from paying them under Article 17 of the Mediation Law.

Expedited mediation proceedings: Article 20 of the Mediation Law seeks to expedite mediation proceedings by requiring the mediator to complete the mediation proceedings in no more than 30 days (which can be extended with the agreement of the parties). Similarly, Article 23 requires the mediator to take into account the need to resolve the dispute in the shortest possible time period.

Mediation proceedings kept confidential: all deliberations, discussions, offers, negotiations, and documents related to the mediation are now confidential by default and any unauthorized disclosure or violation of this confidentiality is subject to a fine of at least twenty thousand Qatari riyals under Article 30 of the Mediation Law.

Qualifications and requirements of mediators: mediators must have certain minimum qualifications and ethical requirements under Article 5 of the Mediation Law, including being fully competent, being of good conduct and reputation, being known for integrity, impartiality and expertise, and not have been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude or dishonesty.

Prescription periods suspended: the commencement of mediation procedures will suspend the legally prescribed prescription period(s) for filing a lawsuit under Article 22 of the Mediation Law.

Appointment of experts in mediation: mediators may seek the assistance of an expert (presumably for technical matters) under Article 23 of the Mediation Law.

Electronic submissions: finally, mediation can be commenced, and all procedures can be undertaken through electronic means and this will have the same binding force as hard-copies of written submissions under Article 33 of the Mediation Law. This should reduce costs, simplify and accelerate the process.

The above advantages are likely to secure more confidence and optimism in mediation proceedings in Qatar and encourage parties to use mediation as an alternative, less confrontational, dispute resolution mechanism to resolve disputes. Should mediation fail to resolve the dispute between the parties, Article 29 of the Mediation Law states that the parties may nevertheless file a lawsuit in the competent court. In other words, litigation still remains an option under the Mediation Law.