It is not uncommon for a losing party to an arbitration to
challenge the final award. Such a challenge is brought before the
competent court of the arbitral seat.
This article provides an overview of the legal framework for
challenging arbitral awards in Qatar.
The applicable law
In 2017, Qatar enacted a new arbitration law by way of Law No. 2
of 2017 ("the Arbitration Law"). The
Arbitration Law is based on the UNCITRAL Model Law and superseded
Chapter 13 of Law No. 13 of 1990, which formerly contained the law
relating to arbitration in Qatar.
The competent court
Article 33(1) of the Arbitration Law provides that challenges to
arbitral awards must be made before the competent court. Article 1
of the Arbitration Law designates the competent court for
Doha-seated arbitrations to be the Civil and Commercial Arbitral
Disputes Circuit of the Court of Appeal ("the
Competent Court").
