Insights

Doha, Qatar – December 9, 2025: Crowell & Moring was recently named Arbitration Team of the Year at the LexisNexis Middle East Qatar Business Law Forum 10th anniversary gala dinner and awards ceremony. The award comes on the heels of another major recognition for Crowell’s International Dispute Group in Doha, which was also named Arbitration Law Firm of the Year 2025 by Thomson Reuters’ Asian Legal Business Middle East Law Awards in October. 

Doha – October 28, 2025: Thomson Reuters’ Asian Legal Business has named Crowell & Moring the “Arbitration Law Firm of the Year” at the Middle East Law Awards.

On 5 October 2025, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani enacted Law No. (22) of 2025 concerning Persons with Disabilities (the “Law”)— a landmark step toward strengthening social inclusion and equal opportunities for individuals with disabilities in Qatar. 

The QFC has amended Article 25A of the QFC Employment Regulations, which pertains to the application of the Retirement and Pensions law to Qatari employees working in the QFC.

On 17 October 2024, Law No. 12 of 2024 on the Qatarization of Jobs in the Private Sector was published in Qatar’s Official Gazette.

The start of 2025 has seen the introduction of the new arbitration rules for the Qatar International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration (“QICCA”). The new rules, entitled the ‘Arbitration Rules 2024’, reflect the changing world of dispute resolution, and the rules are nearly double in length to the 2012 rules reflecting the QICCA’s understanding that arbitration is a competitive environment, and that institutional bodies need to adapt to meet the end-users’ needs. The 2024 rules are a considerable improvement, offering new regimes of expedited and emergency procedures, and transparency on third-party funding, making dispute resolution more accessible and user-friendly. We detail some of the more significant changes below.

This panel will provide an update on issues related to current topics in arbitrating international disputes in MENA: