Qatar Civil and Commercial Procedure Law: 2026 Amendments

Law No. (14) of 2026 amending the Civil and Commercial Procedure Law promulgated by Law No. (13) of 1990 was issued on 11 October 2026 and published in Official Gazette Issue No. (21) on 8 November 2026 (the “New Law”), introducing substantial amendments to the Civil and Commercial Procedure Law.

Law No. (12) of 2005 on the Cases and Procedures of Cassation Appeals in Non-Criminal Matters is repealed:

Under the New Law, Law No. (12) of 2005 is repealed and is replaced by a new Chapter IV entitled “Appeal by Way of Cassation” (Articles 184 bis to 184 bis 17), added to Title XI of Book One of the Civil and Commercial Procedure Law. Cassation appeals already registered before the New Law comes into force will continue to be heard and determined under Law No. (12) of 2005 (Article (6)).

Key procedural changes

• Appeals: The time limit for appeals is reduced from 30 days to 15 days, and from 20 days to 10 days in urgent matters, unless otherwise provided by law (Article 164, as replaced by Article (2) of the New Law). The time limit for cassation appeals is reduced from 60 days to 30 days (Article 184 bis 2, as added by Article (4) of the New Law).
• National address: Service at the latest national address details constitutes personal service on the addressee, with full legal effect (Article 2, as replaced by Article (2) of the New Law).
• Cases struck off: A case is deemed never to have been brought if no party requests its reinstatement within 15 days of being struck off (previously 60 days), or if both parties fail to attend after proceedings resume. Reinstatement remains permitted once only and, where requested by the claimant, is subject to the same fee as the original case (Article 51, as replaced by Article (2) of the New Law).

Key court fees and security deposits

Under Article (5) of the New Law, Schedules (1) and (2) are annexed to the Civil and Commercial Procedure Law, setting out updated court fees and introducing security deposits (see also Articles 526 and 529, as replaced by Article (2) of the New Law). All amounts are in Qatari riyals (QAR):

• Claims not exceeding QAR 30,000: Fee 100; exempt from security deposit.
• Claims before the single-judge court: Fee 1,000 + security deposit 3,000.
• Claims before the three-judge court: Fee 3,000 + security deposit 5,000.
• Appeals before the Court of Appeal: Fee 4,000 + security deposit 7,000.
• Cassation appeals: Fee 5,000 + security deposit 30,000.
• Petitions for reconsideration: Fee 1,000 + security deposit 50,000.
• Payment order applications and urgent claims: Fee 500 each; orders on petition: Fee 300.
• Family cases and related applications and appeals, excluding cassation: Fee 100. Family cases are exempt from security deposits.

The security deposit, or its remaining balance, is refundable to the claimant or appellant after judgment or termination of proceedings. It is forfeited by operation of law where the claim or appeal is held inadmissible, impermissible or void (Article 529, as replaced by Article (2) of the New Law). Specific forfeiture rules apply to cassation appeals (Article 184 bis 15).

Commencement and existing matters

Article (8) of the New Law does not specify a commencement date. Accordingly, we are of the view that the New Law should come into force one month after its publication in the Official Gazette, in accordance with Article (142) of the Qatari Constitution.

Under Article (6) of the New Law, judgments and orders issued before commencement remain subject, as regards methods of appeal and challenge and the applicable time limits, to the laws in force when they were issued. Time periods that began to run before commencement continue to be calculated under the rules in force when they began. Cases pending before the courts of first instance will continue to be heard by those courts until determined.

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