Report: Qatar Constitution... Enslavement of Nation, Despotism of Emir

The State Information Service confirmed that the document called "The Permanent Constitution of Qatar" is devoid of the minimum guarantees related to the rights and freedoms of the people, and at the same time full of everything that devotes the absolute powers of the Emir, in a way that restricts and wastes the basic rights of citizens.

“Through its Media trumpets, the Qatari regime assumes the role of the defender of democracy and directs criticisms and advice to all the peoples of the earth except the miserable people of Qatar,” SIS stated in its report published late Tuesday.

The statement added that the Qatari people are ruled by one of the worst despotic regimes, a regime that was designed to govern a “fiefdom” or a “private estate”.

“The State of Qatar knew no constitutions for over 30 years between its independence in 1970 and the year 2004 when the State’s first constitution was issued. The 2004 constitution was in fact nothing but a document that codified and legitimized the same mechanisms of control and oppression that are widely practiced by Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani and his son and successor Tamim.”

The so-called “permanent constitution of Qatar” according to this study drafted and prepared by the State Information Service is devoid of the most basic guarantees of basic rights and freedoms.

The Unconstitutional Constitution

“By reading through the 150 articles of the Qatari constitution we find that the methods by which Qatar is governed are truly unprecedented in this century and even the previous one. The Emir of Qatar in 2004 issued the constitution and termed it as the permanent constitution of Qatar which is in a way problematic. There is no such thing as a permanent constitution as every constitution can be amended and in fact, article 148 of the Qatari constitution states that the constitution can be amended 10 years from the date of its promulgation.”

Diminished Rights

The legislator devoted Chapter Three of the so-called Permanent Constitution of the State of Qatar to public rights and duties. Nevertheless, this document failed to include even the most basic human rights and overlooked many of them. The rights mentioned in the document superficially stipulated the preservation of every citizen's right to personal freedom, protection from arbitrary detention, and freedom of movement, but in reality, these rights are aborted by adding the phrase “except in accordance with the provisions of the law” at the end of a number of important articles.

Some of the rights were explicitly stipulated but detracted from them in a way that leads to their restriction and suspension, and there are some other rights that the "constitution" never explicitly mentioned.

Rights that were never mentioned in Qatar

The constitution does not guarantee or mention the right to a peaceful strike

The Qatari constitution did guarantee or mention freedom of movement and immigration, and it did not prohibit the arbitrary forced displacement of citizens.

The Qatari constitution does not allow the existence of syndicates or Labor unions.

The Qatari constitution does not address the right to form political parties.

The constitution did not prohibit slavery, oppression, and the forced exploitation of the human being.

The constitution does criminalize violating public rights and freedoms guaranteed by its provisions and the law.

Despotic Rule

Chapter Four of the Qatari Constitution is nothing more than a set of texts that grant the Emir and the ruling family absolute power, and these are some of its features.

No Separation of Powers

In modern democratic countries, there is a clear separation between the three branches of government, "executive, legislative, and judicial," and this is what Article 60 of the Constitution stipulated, but in reality all powers are in the hands of the Emir, and Article 60 does not define the separation of powers.

The Emir is the head of the state and holds all the reins of power be it Executive, judicial or legislative, as he is the one who appoints the Council of Ministers, and appoints all members of the Legislative Council to date in violation of the Qatari Constitution, which stipulated the election of two-thirds of the council, but the country has not witnessed any elections so far.

As for the judiciary in Qatar, the Emir exercises complete control over it, as he has the authority to appoint the president of the Court of Cassation, who is also the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, without stipulating specific controls for his appointment, and without a recommendation from the Judicial Council.

After the previous presentation of the method of appointing members of the government, the Shura Council, and the judiciary, it becomes clear that the Emir enjoys absolute control over the three branches of government, in violation of the principle of separation of powers recognized and accepted all over the world.