Articles of Association

A member to the Association shall satisfy the following conditions:
To be a Qatari national;
To be registered on the roll of practicing lawyers or the roll of trainee-lawyers;
Not to have been convicted – by a final judgment – of committing a crime involving moral turpitude or dishonesty, except where he has been rehabilitated; and
To be recognized as having good conduct and reputation.

A membership application shall be submitted on the form prepared by the Board of Directors. Within 30 days as of the date of submission of the application, the Board may accept it or, provided indicating the grounds, reject it. The lapse of this period without a response shall be considered an implicit rejection of the application.

Those whose application is rejected may appeal against the Board’s decision by registered letters to the Minister of Civil Service Affairs and Housing, within 30 days as of the date on which they were notified of the rejection decision or from the date of the implicit rejection. A decision issued by the Minister in this regard shall be deemed final.

Applicants for membership to the Association, including the persons who sign the Memorandum of Association, must submit a declaration on the following form: I …………………….., holder of a personal ID card number: …………, residing in: …………, my address is: …………, my profession is: …………, hereby certify that I have reviewed the Bylaws of the Qatar Lawyers Association and that I submit my application desiring to be accepted as a member of it. If my application is accepted, I certify that I’ll abide by the Bylaws of the Association, payment of the prescribed membership fees, the decisions of the General Assembly and the Board of Directors, and all other obligations and conditions set forth in these Bylaws.
Date: ………………..
Signature: ………………..

AThe Board of Directors may grant honorary membership to those who perform services of immense worth to the Association. However, such member shall not have the right to vote or to be nominated for membership to the Board of Directors, or to occupy a job in the Association. His sole right shall be participating in its activities.

The value of the annual membership fees for each member is set at (300) three hundred riyals, to be paid as a lump-sum or on monthly installments, as may be deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors. In all events, the membership fees must be paid at least one month before the end of the Association’s FY. If a member joins the Association during the FY, he shall only pay the due fees for the remaining period of the year.

A member to the Association has the following duties:
Pay the annual membership fees on the prescribed dates.
Preserve the reputation of the Association and avoid offending it.
Not to speak in the name of the Association, except where he is commissioned to do so by the Board of Directors.

A member to the Association has the following rights:
Engaging in the activities of the Association;
Attending the meetings of the General Assembly, and discussing the budget and the final account, as well as voting on its decisions;
Nominating for the membership of the Board of Directors; and
Electing the members of the Board of Directors.

Each member has the right to withdraw from the Association at any time, and the Board of Directors has the right to request him to pay any membership fees that may be due from him, until the last month in which the withdrawal is made.

Membership shall lapse by a decision from the Board of Directors in the following two cases:
If the member ceases to fulfill any of the membership conditions;
If the member fails or delays in paying the membership fees for a period of 3 months as of the date set for payment, despite being notified by the Association by a registered letter.
The membership shall come to an end by withdrawal from the Association or death.

A member shall be removed in the following two cases:
If he damages the reputation of the Association or offended it;
If he deviates from the principles or objectives approved by the Association.
The Board of Directors shall notify the member in writing of the grounds of his dismissal by a registered letter sent to his address as shown in the records of the Association, provided setting in such notification a date for hearing his defense before the Board of Directors for a period not less than one week.

If the member was notified of the scheduled session and failed to attend without an excuse acceptable to the Board of Directors, such a member may be dismissed in absentia, and he shall be notified of the Board of Directors’ decision by a registered letter within three days from the date of its issuance.

A member whose membership was canceled or who has been dismissed from the Association may appeal the decision issued in this regard before the General Assembly within 60 days as of the date on which he was notified of the decision by a registered letter, otherwise the appeal will not be accepted.
The said appeal shall be listed on the agenda of the first meeting of the General Assembly to be voted on by secret ballot, and the decision of the General Assembly in this regard shall be final.

Members, whose membership came to an end because of withdrawal, or who ceased to be members for their failure to pay the membership fees, may be reinstated to be members if they apply for re-enrollment within a period of one year and have paid the amounts due during this period.
If they applied for re-enrollment beyond the time-limit referred to in the previous paragraph, they will be treated as new members.

A member, whose membership was canceled or who was removed for any reason, as well as his heirs in the event of his death, shall not have the right to recover membership fees, donations or gifts made by the member to the Association during the term of his membership.

The General Assembly shall consist of all those who have fulfilled their obligations towards the Association, who have been members since at least six months.

Upon an invitation from the Board of Directors, the General Assembly shall be called to convene in an ordinary meeting once a year, within sixty days from the end of the FY of the Association. Members shall be invited to attend the meetings by a registered letter at least two weeks before the meeting date. The invitation shall include the date, time and place of the meeting, and the agenda shall be attached thereto.
In the event that the Board of Directors didn’t invite the General Assembly to convene, the Ministry of Civil Service Affairs and Housing may issue the invitation.

The meetings of the General Assembly shall be held at the headquarters of the Association. However, subject to the approval of the Ministry of Civil Service Affairs and Housing, they may be held in another place to be specified in the invitation letter.

The meetings of the General Assembly shall be chaired by the Chairman of the Board of Directors or, in his absence, his deputy.
As an exception from the provisions of the previous paragraph, the first meeting of the General Assembly shall be chaired by the oldest member.

Members shall attend the meetings of the General Assembly, and each member has the right to appoint a proxy to represent him in the meetings of the General Assembly. The proxy may be either by an official power of attorney or by virtue of a power of attorney signed by the principal and the proxy and approved by the person responsible for inviting the General Assembly and stamped with the seal of the Association, before the date set for the meeting. A member may not represent more than one member, and the member who attends on his own behalf and on behalf of others shall have two votes.

The meeting of the General Assembly may only be valid if attended by the majority of members who have the right to attend. If the quorum is not present, the meeting must be postponed by one hour. If the quorum is not present, the General Assembly shall be invited to convene again within a period not less than 15 days and not more than 30 days. Its meeting in this case shall be deemed valid regardless of the number of members present.

Voting in the General Assembly meetings shall be open by show of hands. In the cases provided for in these Bylaws or at the request of at least one-fifth of the number of members, voting shall be by secret ballot.

At its ordinary meeting, the General Assembly shall have the powers to consider the following issues:
1. The annual report of the Board of Directors;
Approval of the final account for the ended FY;
Approval of the estimated draft budget for the new FY;
The auditor’s report;
Approval of the appointment of an auditor and determining of his remuneration;
Electing the members of the Board of Directors by secret ballot;
Discharging the previous Board of Directors; and
Any other matters on the agenda.

Whenever needed, the Board of Directors may invite the General Assembly to an extraordinary meeting. The Board of Directors must invite it if the same was requested by one-third of the members who are entitled to attend the General Assembly, provided that they indicate in the request the purposes of the meeting. If the Board of Directors didn’t send such invitation for meeting, the Ministry of Civil Service Affairs and Housing may send it.

At its extra-ordinary meeting, the General Assembly shall have the powers to consider the following issues:
Important and urgent issues that are deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors or the members to be presented;
Deciding on the resignation of the Chairman of the Board of Directors, or the resignations submitted by some or all of the board members due to matters affecting the Association or the public interest;
Cancellation of membership of the Chairman or the members of the Board of Directors, in whole or in part;
Dissolution of the Association, or its merging or amalgamation with others.

Neither in its ordinary nor its extraordinary meetings, the General Assembly may consider issues not on the agenda. No extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly may be held for considering a topic as regards which a decision has been already taken, except after one year from the date of such decision.

A meeting of the General Assembly, whether ordinary or extraordinary, shall only be valid if the Ministry of Civil Service Affairs and Housing was notified of the meeting at least seven days before the date set for it. The Ministry may send a representative to attend the meetings of the general assembly.
Upon being notified of the ordinary or extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly, the Ministry may set another date for them, provided that it informs the Association of the same within three days as of the date of the notification.

The minutes and decisions of the General Assembly meetings shall be recorded in a special register, signed by the Chairman and the secretary. The minutes of each meeting shall set out the hour, date and place of the meeting, the names of the members present in person or by proxy, and the availability of the required quorum. It shall also set out the name of the meeting chairman and secretary, the resolutions issued, and the number of votes obtained by each resolution.

Resolutions of the General Assembly shall be made by a majority of votes of the members present. In case the votes are equal, the side of the Chairman shall prevail.

The Association shall be managed by a board composed of no less than five and no more than eleven members, to be elected by the General Assembly by secret ballot from among its members, for a term of three years.

As an exception from the provisions of the previous Article, the founders shall choose a number of members, not less than three and not more than seven, who shall form a temporary committee to manage the Association until the the first Board of Directors is elected, within a period that doesn’t exceed one year from the date of the Association’s registration.

It is required in a member of the Board of Directors that: His service in a workplace had not been terminated for causes involving moral turpitude or dishonesty; nothing of the foregoing has been attributed thereto and the competent investigation authorities decided that there is no cause of a criminal or disciplinary action against him for lack of evidence or for the issuance of a judgment declaring his innocence for the same reason, if a period of five years wasn’t lapsed from the date of the end of service or the issuance of the decision or judgment.

At its first meeting, the Board of Directors shall elect, from among its members, a chairperson, a vice-chairman, a secretary, and a treasurer.

The chairman of the Board shall represent the Association before courts and in its relationship with others, and shall have the right to sign on its behalf.

The vice president shall replace the chairman in his absence, and if the seat of one of the members of the Board of Directors becomes vacant, he shall be replaced by the one who obtained the most votes from among the members nominated in the General Assembly meeting in which that Board was elected. If inapplicable, the General Assembly shall, at its first meeting, nominate a member to occupy the vacant membership. The new member shall complete the term of his predecessor.

The Board of Directors shall have powers to decide everything related to the management of the Association, in particular:
Developing plans, preparing programs, activities and works of the Association, and supervising their implementation;
Issuing the internal administrative and financial regulations regulating the work flow, and the Association’s staff regulations; Admission of new members;
Proposing appointment of an auditor;
Establishing branches of the Association, subject to the approval of the Minister of Civil Service Affairs and Housing;
Preparing the final account for the ended FY, preparing the estimated draft budget for the following FY and submitting them to the General Assembly;
Preparing the annual report on the activity of the Association, and presenting it to the General Assembly in its regular session;
Discussing the auditor’s report, preparing a response to its comments and presenting it to the General Assembly;
Inviting the General Assembly to convene and implementing its decisions;
Providing the Ministry of Civil Service Affairs and Housing with a copy of the final account of the ended FY audited by the auditor, and the estimated draft budget for the following FY at least one month before the date of the General Assembly’s meeting; and
Discussing the Ministry’s remarks, preparing a response to them, and endeavoring to avoid them.

Upon an invitation from its chairman or, in case of his absence, from its vice-chairman, the Board of Directors shall meet at the headquarters of the Association at least once every three months. It may also convene whenever necessary, or at the request of the majority of the members of the Board.
The invitation sent for attending the meeting shall be in writing enough time before the date of its convening. The agenda of the meeting shall be attached to the invitation.

Meetings of the Board of Directors shall be chaired by the Chairman of the Board or, in the absence of the Chairman, by his deputy. A meeting of the Board of Directors shall only be valid if attended by the majority of the members.
The Board of Directors shall make its decisions by the majority of votes of the members present. In case of equal votes, the side of the chairman shall prevail.
The decisions of the Board of Directors shall be entered into a special record to be signed by the chairman, or his representative, and the present members.

If a board member absented himself for three consecutive meetings, without an excuse acceptable to the Board of Directors, the member shall be considered as resigned from the Board which shall choose another member to replace him, in accordance with the provision of Article (37) of these Bylaws.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors shall have the following powers: Presiding over the General Assembly’s meetings and the Board of Directors’s meetings;
Co-signing, with the Secretary, the minutes of the meetings of the General Assembly, and co-signing, with the attending members, the minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors; and
Implementing the decisions of the Board of Directors not related to financial transactions.

The Secretary of the Board of Directors shall have the following duties:
Preparing the agenda of the Board of Directors’ meetings and the General Assembly’s meetings, in consultation with the Chairman of the Board;
Sending invitations for the General Assembly’s meetings and the Board of Directors’ meetings to the members;
Drafting minutes of the General Assembly’s meetings and the Board of Directors’ meetings;
Notifying the decisions of the General Assembly and the Board of Directors and following-up their implementation;
Keeping the papers, documents and seals at the Association’s headquarters;
Contributing to the preparation of the annual report of the Association’s activity, and reading it out before the General Assembly;
Supervising the employees and persons entrusted with any work of the Association; and
Performing any other works assigned thereto by the Board of Directors.

The Treasurer of the Board of Directors shall have the following duties:
Supervising all the financial transactions of the Association;
Implementing the decisions of the Board of Directors related to financial transactions, signing undertakings with the Chairman of the Board, and submitting financial statements to the Board of Directors;
Following-up the collection of membership fees, preparing lists of those who defaulted on payment, and presenting such lists to the Board of Directors to take the appropriate decision as regards them;
Co-signing, with other authorized members of the Board of Directors, orders of payment from the amounts deposited with banks; Preparing the estimated budget for the following FY, and the final account for the ended FY;
Keeping the books and financial documents at the Association’s premises; and
Maintaining the cash balance statement, and abiding by submitting it upon request from the Board of Directors or from any other authority having the authority to inspect, review or monitor it.
The Treasurer shall be also responsible for all the financial affairs of the Association, in accordance with the system prepared by the auditor and approved by the Board of Directors.

The FY of the Association shall begin on the first of January and ends at the end of December of each year. As an exception of the foregoing, the first FY shall begin from the date of registration of the Association and ends at the end of December of the following year.

The Association’s finances consist of membership fees, gifts, donations, subsidies, loans, wills, endowments, and other revenues approved by the Board of Directors which do not contradict with the regulations and laws in force.

The Association’s properties are owned by Association. No members, withdrawn members, dismissed members, or members with canceled membership have any right in such properties.

The Association shall comply with any rules, instructions and accounting forms issued by the Ministry of Civil Service Affairs and Housing.

The Association shall maintain at its premises all records, books and documents set out in the rules, instructions and accounting principles. Such records must be stamped by the Ministry of Civil Service Affairs and Housing before they can be used.

The Association shall deposit its cash funds in its name with one or more local banks to be selected by the Board of Directors. Withdrawal of funds is only allowed upon approval of the Chairman of the Board of Directors, his deputy, or the Treasurer.

The Association’s Board of Directors shall submit to the General Assembly the final account for the ended FY, provided being audited by a licensed auditing office, and the estimated draft budget for the following FY. It shall also send a copy of them to the Ministry of Civil Service Affairs and Housing, at least thirty days before the date of the General Assembly’s meeting. The Ministry may review such documents.

The Association’s resources shall be allocated for its objectives. Subject to the approval of the Ministry of Civil Service Affairs and Housing, and in a manner that does not conflict with its objectives, the Association may invest any surplus of its funds inside the State to help it to finance its activities.

The Association may not collect donations except after obtaining permission from the Minister for a specific purpose and for a specific period, and in a manner that does not contradict with the laws and decisions in force.

The Association may not affiliate, subscribe, or join any other association, organization or club based outside the country, except after obtaining the approval of the Minister of Civil Service Affairs and Housing.
The Association may not send or receive any loans, gifts, donations, wills, endowments or other funds, to or from a person, association, body or club based outside the country, except after obtaining a written approval from the Ministry of Civil Service Affairs and Housing. The Association shall send to the Ministry copies of the dispatch and delivery vouchers, provided indicating on them the name and address of the sender, and the name and address of the recipient.

The business and accounts of the Association shall be subject to the supervision and control of the Ministry of Civil Service Affairs and Housing, so that their compliance with the law, the Association’s Bylaws, and the prescribed accounting principles is to be verified.

Subject to the approval of the Minister of Civil Service Affairs and Housing, the Association’s Board of Directors may establish one or more branches, if the nature of its objectives so dictates or for public interest, provided that the Association manages and supervises such branches, and provided that each branch must bear the name of the Association.

No amendment may be made to the the Association’s Bylaws except by a decision from the General Assembly in an extraordinary meeting attended by the majority of the members who have the right to attend. A decision is issued by the approval of the majority of votes of the present members. In case of amendments to the Association’s Bylaws, such amendments must be registered in accordance with the provisions of the said Law No. (12)/2004.

Neither the Association nor its union may be merged with others except by a decision from the General Assembly in an extraordinary meeting to be attended by the majority of the members who have the right to attend. A decision is issued by the approval of the majority of votes of the present members, and it shall only enter into force upon the approval of the Minister of Civil Service Affairs and Housing.

The Association may be dissolved by a decision made by the General Assembly in an extraordinary meeting attended by two thirds of the members who have the right to attend. A dissolution resolution is made by the approval of the majority of votes of the present members.

The Minister of Civil Service Affairs and Housing may issue a decision dissolving the Association in one of the following cases:
If the number of its members is less than twenty members;
If it violated the provisions of the said Law No. (12)/2004, or these Bylaws;
Engaging in political matters;
The Minister may, instead of dissolving the Association, suspend its Board of Directors, and may, if this would serve public interest and achieve the Association’s objectives, appoint a temporary Board of Directors for a period not exceeding one year.
Any dissolution decision or appointment of temporary Board of Directors decision issued by the Minister shall be subject to the rules of appeal set out in Article (7) of the Law No. (12)/2004.
Such dissolution decision or appointment of temporary Board of Directors decision shall be published, when it becomes final, in the Official Gazette.

In the event that the Association is dissolved for any reason, its funds may not be disposed of, except by giving them to associations or private institutions that operates in one or more fields of the Association.

Disputes related to the work of the Association, or the interpretation of these Bylaws, as well as disputes arising among members, or between members and the Board of Directors, shall be referred to the Minister of Civil Service Affairs and Housing, to decide upon them as deemed appropriate.

Where the Association’s employee regulations are silent, the provisions of the Labor Law promulgated by Law No. (14) of 2004 shall apply to the Association’s employees.