Qatar
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- absolute monarchy
- CONSTITUTION
- ratified by public referendum on April 29, 2003, effective from June 9, 2005
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on civil and Islamic codes there is a discretionary system controlled by the emir, although codes are being introduced; Islamic law has jurisdiction over personal and family matters
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- unicameral, Consultative Council (Majlis al-Shura)
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- first instance courts, courts of appeal, and cassation. an administrative court and a constitutional court were established in 2007
RELIGIONS
77.5% Muslims, 8.5% Christians, 14% other
From the country
- JANUARY 1, 2010QatarDEATH PENALTY
Murder, offences against the State, drug offences and terrorism are capital crimes.
Murder, offences against the State, drug offences and terrorism are capital crimes.
- JULY 18, 2009QatarDEATH PENALTY
QATAR: WOMAN ESCAPES DEATH SENTENCE AFTER BLOOD MONEY ACCEPTED
an expatriate woman facing the firing squad for stabbing her housemaid to death was pardoned after the deceased’s family accepted blood money.
- JULY 14, 2009QatarDEATH PENALTY
QATAR: DEATH SENTENCE UPHELD FOR TEEN WHO KILLED AUNT
a Doha appeals court in Qatar upheld the death sentence passed against a teenager by a lower court for the brutal murder of his aunt following a quarrel over money on September 17, 2007.
- JUNE 10, 2009QatarDEATH PENALTY
QATAR: MAN GIVEN DEATH PENALTY SEEKS RETRIAL
a man sentenced to death in absentia by a criminal court in Doha, Qatar, filed a plea for reopening the trial
- JUNE 9, 2009NepalDEATH PENALTY
QATAR: APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS DEATH PENALTY FOR THREE ASIAN MEN IN MURDER CASE
for the second time, a Doha appeals court in Qatar upheld the death penalty of two Indians and a Nepali in a murder case.
- MAY 15, 2009QatarDEATH PENALTY
QATAR: TWO CONVICTED OF MURDER GET DEATH SENTENCE COMMUTED
two young Asians who were sentenced to death by a lower court in Qatar for murdering an acquaintance in 2006 had their sentence commuted by a higher court to varying jail terms
- MAY 10, 2009QatarDEATH PENALTY
QATAR: COURT COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE TO 10 YEARS JAIL
an unidentified man facing death in Qatar for murdering his friend had his sentence commuted to 10 years
- MAY 4, 2009BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
QATAR: DUO’S DEATH PENALTY COMMUTED
a Doha appeals court in Qatar commuted the death penalty given to two Bangladeshi men, one a minor, by a lower court to a life sentence and a 10-year imprisonment.
- APRIL 27, 2009Sri LankaDEATH PENALTY
QATAR: DEATH PENALTY IN SRI LANKAN MURDER CASE COMMUTED
a Doha appeals court in Qatar commuted the death penalty given to four Sri Lankans for their involvement in a compatriot’s murder to ten-year imprisonment.
- MARCH 1, 2009QatarDEATH PENALTY
QATAR: COURT HANDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR ‘MANHOLE MURDER’
a man was sentenced to death by firing squad for the “premeditated murder” of a Pakistani compatriot in Doha, Qatar, on January 15, 2007.
- JANUARY 14, 2009QatarDEATH PENALTY
QATAR: NATIONAL GETS DEATH PENALTY FOR MURDER
a Qatari national was given the death penalty for killing a man during a family dispute and the 12 people
- JANUARY 11, 2009QatarDEATH PENALTY
QATAR: DEATH PENALTY REPRIEVE
a lower criminal court which sentenced a housewife to face the firing squad for killing her maid had a lighter sentence imposed by the Qatar Court of Appeals, which ruled that the murder was not premeditated.