QUESTION: My colleague and his friend have recently been arrested by police after being charged with drink driving. The car is owned and was driven by my colleague’s friend. Actually, the car was parked on a street. My colleague does not hold a driving licence. But he has also been charged. He was just a co-passenger. Is this an offence? What will be the offence charged against the colleague’s friend?
BR, Doha

ANSWER: According to Article 270 of the Qatar Penal Laws, anyone who is found drunk on a main street or anyone who disturbs others due to intoxication shall be convicted to no more than six months or a fine of QR3,000 or both. The same penalty is imposed on anyone who drinks any alcoholic beverages in a public place.
As per Article 57 of the Traffic law, any person who drives a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs or any other psychotropic substances shall be punished according to the Article 94, in which the offender shall be sentenced either to imprisonment for not less than one month and not more than three years or a fine not less than QR10,000 and not more than QR50,000.

The liability of company partners
Q: I have invested in a business in Qatar. I am 17% shareholder of the company which is engaged in construction contracting. The company is in financial loss and many civil suits are filed against it for due payments. Our manager had left the country and partners who are in Qatar are in trouble. We have decided to liquidate the company and in such case, what will be liability of its partners? Does it affect my investments and personal properties?
PI, Doha

A: The partners or shareholders shall not be held personally liable for the debts or claims against their business. If the limited liability company is sued and ordered to pay the debt, the partners shall be liable to their capital contributions in the limited liability company. In the event of financial loss, the partners shall not be personally obliged to pay those debts from personal assets unless the partner signs personal guarantee in order to get a business loan or for any other financial transaction. 

Annual leave entitlement
Q: I am employed by a private company in Doha as an electrician. Our company grants annual leave to its employees twice a year. I have completed my second year with the company and the management offered me 24 days leave in a year. They granted 14 days in April and 10 days in September. Because of this split leave, we don’t get much time to spend with our family. Most other private company employees are allowed to avail of leave for 21 days without any break. Can we take any action on this? The management did not pay leave salary for some of our employees who did not avail of the leave. They rejected the claim for leave salary as the employees did not avail of the leave in that period. Is this legal?
BPM, Doha

A: As per Article 79 of the Labour Law, the employee who has completed one continuous year in the service of the employer shall be entitled to an annual leave and this leave shall not be less than three weeks for the employee whose service is less than five years and four weeks for the employee whose service is more than five years.
Under Article 80, the employer shall fix the date of the annual leave for the employee in accordance with the work requirements and may divide the leave with the consent of the employee provided that the division shall not be into more than two periods. The employer may on a written application of the employee, postpone not more than half of the annual leave to the year following the year of its entitlement.
However, the employee shall not waive his entitlement to the annual leave and any agreement to the contrary shall be void. The employee shall be entitled to payment in lieu of his annual leave equivalent to his wage for the leave days to which he is entitled if the contract is terminated for any reason before the employee takes his leave.

Payment of water and electricity bills
Q: Who is liable to pay electricity and water charges if the rent contract is silent on obligation to pay? It was verbally agreed by the landlord to pay the charges.
FG, Doha

A: According to Article 9 of the Rental Laws, the tenant shall legally be obliged to, from the date of receiving the premises and until the return of the premises to the landlord, pay all water, electricity and telephone charges and any other charges, unless otherwise agreed in the contract.

* E-mail: leges@qatar.net.qa

LEGAL SYSTEM IN QATAR
According to Article 232, a limited liability company shall not be incorporated until all shares have been allocated to all partners and the value of each share shall have to be paid in full. Cash subscriptions shall be deposited in a bank accredited in the state and shall not release the same except to the company directors upon submittal of evidence to the effect the registration of company in the commercial register.
If the partner share be one in kind, the articles of association of the company shall state its type, value, price agreed upon by the other partners, the partner’s name and the capital share against what he offered. The partner who submits share in kind shall be liable to the third parties for the difference between its actual value and the value estimated in the articles of association, and the other partners shall also be jointly and severally liable to settle any difference unless they prove that they are not aware of the discrepancy. Nevertheless, in this case, a claim for liability in respect of the foregoing shall be unenforceable after the expiry of three years from the date of company registration.
As per Article 233, the director of the company shall submit application for registering the company in the commercial register, and the application should be attached with the articles of association and the documents indicating the distribution of shares between the partners, payment of their value in full and deposit of the same in accredited bank in the state, in addition to the documents indicating the receipt of the shares in kind, if any. The company shall not conduct any of its activities before it is registered in the Register of Commerce.
According to Article 234, the partners should fix the share capital of the company, and the profit and loss shall be equally distributed on shares unless it is otherwise stipulated in the articles of association, provided the provisions of Article 13 of this Law are observed.
The company capital shall be divided into shares of equal values, to be paid up in full by the partners upon incorporation, and these shares shall be indivisible. If the share is owned by several persons, the company may suspend the enjoyment of rights attached thereto until the owners of the said share elect one of them who may be considered as a sole owner in respect of dealings with the company. The company may specify a date for the owners to declare their appointee, failing which, the company may sell the share for the benefit of its owners, and in such case, the company shall offer the share to the existing partners and then to third parties.
As per Article 236, the company should maintain a special register for the partners at its head office, which shall include the following details: (1) The name, address, nationality and profession; (2) The number and value of shares owned by each partner; (3) The transactions carried out with regard to the shares, its date, reason for ownership transfer, the name of the transfer or and the transferee and their signatures; and (4) The total shares owned by the partner after the transaction. The directors of the company shall be jointly and severally responsible for maintaining this register and for the authenticity of its data. The partners, and whoever holds an interest, shall have the right of access to the said register.