Recent QFC Court judgments highlight the importance of precise drafting of arbitration clauses in Qatar’s dual-jurisdiction system comprising of the onshore State of Qatar and the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC). Although these cases, D v E [2025] QIC (F) 38 and C v D [2025] QIC (F) 44, are not strictly construction-related, they are highly relevant for our construction practitioners as they appear in construction contracts often.
In D v E, the dispute arises from a share purchase agreement between the Defendant (E) as seller of shares and the Claimant (D) as buyer. The share purchase agreement contained the following dispute resolution clause:
“Dispute Resolution. Any disputes, claims, or counterclaims arising out of or relating to this Agreement, or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation, or validity thereof, including the determination of the scope or applicability of this agreement to arbitrate, should be determined by arbitration in Doha, Qatar, before one arbitrator. The arbitration shall be administered by the Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre (QICDRC) pursuant to its rules.” (Emphasis added)
The QFC Court concluded that the reference to:
- “arbitration in Doha, Qatar" set the legal seat as the State of Qatar, making the Qatar Arbitration Law (Law 02 of 2017) the governing law.
- "administered by […] the QICDRC” was interpreted not as appointing an arbitral institution, but as the parties’ clear choice to have the QFC Court act as the “Competent Court” supervising the arbitration under Qatar Arbitration Law.
The following case C v D affirmed the above decision.
In this case, the Claimant had issued a claim for breach of contract and the Defendant challenged jurisdiction on the ground that the matter ought to be resolved via arbitration pursuant to the contract between them.
The arbitration clause read, in part, as follows:
"Any dispute or difference arising out of or in connection with this contract, including any question regarding its existence, validity or termination, shall be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration by QATAR INTERNATIONAL COURT AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION CENTRE ("QICDRC") in accordance with QATAR INTERNATIONAL COURT AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION CENTRE ("QICDRC") rules in force at the time. The seat, or legal place, of the arbitration shall be Qatar." (Emphasis added)
The Court confirmed that designating the QFC Court as the "Competent Court" gives it supervisory authority over the arbitration process, not the power to decide the dispute itself.
These cases show the QFC Court will try to uphold flawed clauses, but also highlight the risks of unclear drafting.
