Insights

Doha – April 2, 2026: Crowell & Moring’s Doha office has been recognized in two of the legal industry’s leading directories: Chambers and Partners and Legal 500.

The UK has successfully concluded a milestone free trade agreement (FTA) with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. We set out below a high-level comment on the FTA’s chapters and some of the key provisions.

It has been a couple of years since the introduction of Qatar's Judicial Enforcement Law No. 4 of 2024 (the Judicial Enforcement Law), but enforcement is still a process that many do not understand. It is therefore perhaps worth a reminder of the law and its far-reaching scope. I conclude the article with a brief look at how the law has benefitted creditors.

As a disputes lawyer, I come across many disputes that were entirely avoidable, and it is fair to say that commercial disputes are among the most costly and disruptive events a business can face. They consume management time, damage commercial relationships, generate significant legal costs, and — in severe cases — threaten the viability of an enterprise altogether. Yet a significant proportion of disputes that find their way into arbitration tribunals, courtrooms, or mediation suites are not the product of bad faith or genuinely irreconcilable differences. They are, at their root, the product of poorly drafted contracts: documents that failed to anticipate risk, allocate responsibility clearly, or provide workable mechanisms for resolving problems when they arise.

There are many issues to be mindful of during a time of conflict, but staff welfare is at the top of the list for any employer in Qatar. We set out below some key considerations for employers in the Middle East Region to be thinking about during this time.

As the war in the Middle East moves into its second week, its impact will be felt across businesses and industries.