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
- FEBRUARY 17, 2004QatarDEATH PENALTY
Qatar passed its first anti-terror law, which stipulated...
Qatar passed its first anti-terror law, which stipulated the death penalty for killing "through a terror act"
- MARCH 18, 2003QatarDEATH PENALTY
Marking a visit from Jordan's king, the leader of Qatar...
Marking a visit from Jordan's king, the leader of Qatar pardoned a Jordanian journalist who had been convicted of spying and sentenced to death, according to the official Qatari official news agency
- MARCH 11, 2003QatarDEATH PENALTY
Indian national Arun Abraham, sentenced to death by...
Indian national Arun Abraham, sentenced to death by Qatar's Sharia court for killing his Indian colleague, was executed by firing squad in Doha's central prison
- FEBRUARY 24, 2003QatarDEATH PENALTY
A Qatari appeals court upheld the death sentence imposed...
A Qatari appeals court upheld the death sentence imposed on a Jordanian journalist convicted of spying
- JANUARY 6, 2003QatarDEATH PENALTY
Qatar's appeal court postponed judgement on a death...
Qatar's appeal court postponed judgement on a death sentence handed down against a Jordanian journalist for spying, but lawyers expressed optimism that it would be quashed
- JANUARY 1, 2003QatarDEATH PENALTY
Murder, offenses against the State and drug offenses...
Murder, offenses against the State and drug offenses are capital crimes
- OCTOBER 27, 2002QatarDEATH PENALTY
Hundreds of Jordanian women marched in Abdun District...
Hundreds of Jordanian women marched in Abdun District in western Amman, appealing to the Qatari people to help release Jordanian journalist Firas al-Majali
- OCTOBER 22, 2002QatarDEATH PENALTY
A Jordanian journalist was condemned to death for spying...
A Jordanian journalist was condemned to death for spying for a "foreign country" by Qatar's supreme court, said his lawyer Issa al-Manai
- JANUARY 1, 2002QatarDEATH PENALTY
Until 2001, when three people were put to death, there...
Until 2001, when three people were put to death, there had been no executions in Qatar for 10 years
- JANUARY 1, 2002QatarDEATH PENALTY
Murder, offenses against the State and drug offenses...
Murder, offenses against the State and drug offenses are capital crimes
- MAY 21, 2001QatarDEATH PENALTY
A Qatar appeals court condemned to death Sheikh Hamad...
A Qatar appeals court condemned to death Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Hamad Al Thanin, a cousin of the country's emir, and 18 other defendants for their role in a foiled 1996 coup, overturning a lower court ruling giving the plotters life sentences
- APRIL 25, 2001QatarDEATH PENALTY
Qatar voted against the resolution on the death penalty...
Qatar voted against the resolution on the death penalty approved by the UN Commission on Human Rights on April 25, 2001 (2001/68)