Qatar's first comprehensive e-Transactions and e-Commerce Law was enacted by Emiri Decree on Thursday, August 19, 2010.
The full official Arabic text of the e-Commerce Law and the English translation of the law are available at this link.
The law covers e-Commerce and e-Transactions in the State of Qatar, and is an important step forward in fostering business usage of e-Commerce and Transactions.
The Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR) has developed the law and conducted consultations on the draft law with the concerned government bodies. ictQATAR is now tasked with formulating the necessary regulations and orders.
The e-Commerce Law includes provisions on areas such as e-signatures, e-documents and authentication. It covers e-Commerce transactions in Qatar, including e-Government services.
The law was modeled on the UN and the EU models and directions on e-commerce and electronic signature and other international practices.
The law does not apply to documents relating to family and personal status, documents that by law must be notarized and negotiable instruments.