Question: I was a partner in a limited liability company in Qatar which got liquidated five years ago and the name was struck off from the commercial registration and taxation departments too. A liquidator was appointed under a joint resolution by the partners. Now, we, the same partners, want to establish a new company. The question is that whether due to our presence in a new venture, any issue may crop up against the partners or the liquidator? Any chances of court cases? Please advise.
AST, Doha

Answer: As per Article 321 of the company law, no claim against the liquidator concerning the liquidation activities shall be heard after the expiry of three years from the declaration date of the end of liquidation and no claims against the partners based on the company activities or against the managers, board members or auditors based on the acts done in pursuance of their functions, shall be heard after such a period.  

Clarification on self-defence law

Q: Like other countries, what is the law on self-defence in Qatar? I would like to have a clarification on provisions related to self-defence under Qatar law. What are the acts that are considered as actions under the exercise of self-defence in Qatar law?
AS, Doha

A: According to Article 49 of the penal law, it is not an offence if done in the exercise of the right of private defence. The right of private defence shall arise if the following conditions are fulfilled: (1) If the defendant faces immediate danger of any offence affecting himself, his property, or the person or property of a third party, or if he believes in the existence of such a danger based on reasonable grounds; (2) If it becomes impossible for defendant to resort to public authorities to prevent the danger in due course of time; (3) When the defendant has no other way to avoid the danger; and (4) If defence is necessary to fend off the aggression and is compatible with said aggression. 

Liability period 
for repair works

Q: I am one of the partners in a company which executes construction contracts. We have successfully completed projects in different areas. Now we have an issue with a project which we completed in 2006 and we did all the defect maintenance that occurred during the decennial liability period. After 10 years, are we liable for any defects? Still we receive notices from client on various defects. Please explain to what extent we are liable for defects after 10 years. 
UD, Doha

A: The liability period begins on the handover of the project to the employer. The contractor shall not liable for defect discovered after the decennial period. If the contractor carries out repair to any defect discovered during the decennial liability period, the liability in respect of that element of the structure which required repair or reinforcement will remain for a further 10 years from completion of those remedial works.

No right to cut power connection

Q: I have subleased an apartment and in the lease agreement, the tenant agreed to pay rent on 15th of every month. For the initial few months, the tenant paid the rent regularly but now he is defaulting. Even after repeated requests he refuses to settle the dues. I approached the court concerned which asked me to register the lease deed. I cannot afford the fee required for registration. Moreover, attestation of the original lease is also required and that is not possible at this time. The tenant is not ready to vacate. Can I disconnect the electricity to the building to force the tenant to pay rent? Is there any other solution? Please advise. JDL, Doha

A: When there is a lease contract and tenant residing therein, you have no right to cut the electricity connection for any reason even when electricity connection is in your name. In the event of non-payment, the lessor can file a rental case before the Rental Disputes Settlement Committee to claim for the rent and termination of the contract. All the lease agreements are required to be registered by the landlord at the Leases Registration Office at the Municipality in order to enable landlord to bring a claim in respect of the lease agreement before the Rental Dispute Settlement Committee or the Court. 

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LEGAL SYSTEM IN QATAR

According to Article 268 of the Civil and Commercial Procedure law, the party who requests evidence based on testimony by witnesses have to explain to the court in writing or verbally in the hearing, facts which he/she intends to prove, names of persons whose testimony is required and place of their residence. 
The court may order evidence by testimony of witnesses whenever it deems this to be appropriate in the interests of justice. Testimony by hearing shall only be accepted in the following cases: (1) Death; (2) Kinship; (3) If one of the parties has accepted it as proof, provided that the court shall accept their agreement which shall be attached to the hearing minutes after affixing its contents therein. If the court permits any one of the parties to prove an incident through the testimony of witnesses, the other party shall have the right to refute it in the same manner.
As per Article 271, the court may decide on its own accord to base its judgment on the testimony of witnesses in cases where the law allows proof in such a manner, whenever it considers that this serves the interests of justice. Whenever its decision is based upon the testimony of witnesses, the court may, in all cases, call on anyone whose testimony it deems appropriate to hear in order to reveal the truth.
The judgment that orders the testimony of witnesses should explain every one of the incidents that are ordered to be proved, otherwise it shall be void. The judgment shall also include the day and time of commencement of interrogation. Interrogation shall be conducted before the court. If the court is constituted of more than one judge, it shall delegate one of its judges to conduct the interrogation.
According to Article 274, interrogation shall continue until all the plaintiff’s and defendant’s witnesses are heard at the specified time. The defence witnesses shall be heard at the same session in which the plaintiff’s witnesses provide their evidence unless there is any hindrance to this effect. If the interrogation is adjourned to another hearing, the adjournment order shall be deemed as a mandate for those witnesses present to attend this hearing, unless the court or the deputed judge has exempted them from attending the hearing.
If one of the parties to the disputes has requested, during the specified date for interrogation, an extension of this date, the court or the deputed judge shall immediately decide on this request with an order noted in the minutes. If the judge rejects the extension, the party may file grievance to the court based on a verbal request to be noted in the records of the interrogation. The court shall issue its order on this matter. This court order shall not be subject to appeal. It shall not be permitted to hear testimony of witnesses upon request made by litigants after the expiry of the time for interrogation.
As per Article 278, if the witness refuses to appear in reply to the summons of the litigant or the court, the litigant or the Registry of the court, as the case may be, shall summon him to appear to give his testimony at least twenty-four hours before the time fixed for his hearing, excluding distance time. In urgent cases, this time shall be reduced, and the witness may be notified by the Registry of the court to appear by a cable ordered by the court or the deputed judge.
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