Qatar

Name of law: Law No. 9 of 2022 Regulating the Right to Receive Information
First adopted: 2022
Last modified: n/a
RTI Rating last updated: n/a
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Introduction

Qatar’s RTI Law, Law No. 9 of 2022 Regulating the Right to Receive Information, is a weak law. It fails to clearly lay out procedures on how to make RTI requests, and its system of exceptions lacks a public interest override and sunset clauses, and it has unclear rules and overbroad or otherwise illegitimate exceptions, such as allowing for requests to be denied where "necessary circumstances" prevent a request from being answered. Another key failure of this law is its complete absence of a right of appeal to an independent oversight body, instead offering only an internal complaint mechanism without outlining clear rules on how to lodge such complaints. The law also lacks sufficient promotional measures and provides for significant penalties for revealing information contrary to the law without providing any protections for officials who reveal information in good faith. The Law performed strongest in the Scope category but still lacked clarity as to which bodies are subject to it.
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