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| Qatar Tribune / Qatar committed to
rule of law, peace: PM |
| 2009-05-31 |
MAYA MANSOUR /QNA
DOHA Inaugurating the first Qatar Law Forum
(QLF) here on Saturday in the presence of chief justices and legal luminaries, Prime Minister and Minister of
Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al Thani said the vision of democracy in Qatar had been
defined by the policies of the Emir His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani since he assumed power in
1995.
“The gist of these policies is to bring peace, security, justice and comprehensive
development in building of democracy without hurting the cultural sentiments of the society,” the Premier said.
“We have embarked on a path to build a state of institutions, provide due respect to human
rights and boost people’s participation in management and governance on the principles of transparency and
accountability.
It involves the opinion of the majority based on the national constitution
endorsed by the Qataris through vote in 2005,” he added.
The premier said the constitution
stipulated that the rule of law was the foundation stone of governance in the state and adopted a number of
principles to achieve this goal.
To ensure separation of power, equality among people and
for the observance of the country’s provisions, the PM said that the country had embarked on a process to
review the present legislation and to upgrade it as per the modern day requirements for sustainable
development.
He said, “We do not rule out the possibility of lacunae in the legislation as
a result of development in the legal field.
We look forward to the discussions and opinions
of the participants to overcome the deficiencies.” “The work of law is to organise the social life by upholding
of all individuals freedom and defining their duties but this must be based on the foundation of freedom and
equality.
However, an individual’s freedom stops at the limit of the duties imposed by
law,” the premier said, adding the ultimate goal was to ensure peaceful coexistence in the society.
The prime minister said the concept of the rule of law was one of the basic principles of the
constitution and it was not possible for the public authorities in a particular country to exercise their
authority except by virtue of written laws promulgated in accordance with constitutional procedures with a view
to realising the principles of protection against arbitrary rules in individual cases.
“This concept clearly manifests itself in a democratic society which adopts human development on the basis of
good governance in which political, economic and administrative authorities are exercised at all levels.
The state alone is incapable of building a democratic and just society involving transparency,
accountability, efficiency and justice,” the premier said.
Stressing the need for global
commitment to rule of law, he said the consolidation of the rule of law principle at the national level was not
sufficient unless adopted at the international level since no country today lived in
isolation. “Therefore, there is a
necessity to organise international
relations in a way that
upholds rights and imposes
duties on the
basis of the rule of
law, the Premier said, adding it
was no secret that
the United
Nations had been considering
this issue for years through
its
sixth legal committees
Speaking at the inaugural session,
Qatar’s Supreme Judiciary
Council Chairman HE Judge
Massoud bin Mohamed al
Ameri stressed the importance
of judiciary
in the interpretation
of laws and revitalising
them in practice.
Highlighting the role of the
judiciary in achieving social
control through, he said there
were three legal systems: Latin,
Anglo-Saxon and Islamic
Sharia. “Though there are differences
in
their mechanisms,
they share a common goal
when it comes to delivery of
justice,
he said, adding the judges
had been given the responsibility
to maintain peace and protect
the rights of human beings.
A number of participating
judges and legal professionals
from
various countries gave
speeches during the session on
a number of
challenges facing
the world today such as globalisation
effects, climate
and religious
changes and means of facing
them to serve the interests
of future generations.
They said tense situations
could
be solved by two means,
either war or law, referring in
this context to
the significance
of this forum for the discussion
of such vital
aspects.
Participants underlined the
need for international adherence
to independent legal systems,
international agreements,
sacrifices and respect and
enforcement of law on all levels
to face
such challenges. |
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