Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU) College of Law and Public Policy (CLPP) is scheduled to host a colloquium and a panel discussion on October 10 to examine the domestic and legal implications of the order on provisional measures adopted by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The colloquium will address the recent case initiated by Qatar against the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

Dr. Ahmad M. Hasnah, president of HBKU, will attend the colloquium.  The panel discussion will be chaired by Susan L. Karamanian, Dean of HBKU’s College of Law and Public Policy. Anticipated to join the discussions will also be Steven R. Ratner, Bruno Simma Collegiate Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School; Mehran Kamrava, Professor and Director of the Center for International and Regional Studies at Georgetown University-Qatar; and Eleni Polymenopoulou, Assistant Professor at HBKU’s CLPP. The discussions will explore the outcomes of the ICJ order.Through the panel, HBKU’s CLPP aims to facilitate debate on the efforts of the State of Qatar to protect the rights of its citizens. 

Dean Susan Karamanian said: “In its July 23, 2018 Order on Provisional Measures in the case of the Qatar VS. the United Arab Emirates, the ICJ interpreted an important multilateral international human rights treaty to protect Qataris who had been harmed due to actions of the UAE. HBKU’s CLPP is honored to host a prestigious panel of experts, featuring the Attorney General of Qatar, His Excellency Dr. Ali bin Fetais Al-Marri, which will explore the international legal dimensions of the Order and its significance as to future Qatar-UAE relations.” 

Assistant Professor Eleni Polymenopoulou said: “Discussions that explore the current geopolitical climate through a legal prism as well as its ramifications and implications are now more pertinent than ever. We look forward to hosting our valued guests and to generating discussions on Qatar’s submission to the ICJ and its subsequent ruling. 

Our collaboration with both local and international academic institutions enables us to gain crucial local and global perspectives on the implications of the UAE’s boycott and the impact it has had on Qatari citizens who were living and studying in the country. The college is privileged to be able to present and benefit from the wealth of the expertise of all of its participants at the panel. CLPP continuously strives to foster open dialogue as part of the college’s – and indeed the University’s – mandate to engage in meaningful discourse.”

In June 2018, under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), Qatar requested the ICJ to put in place measures to protect Qatari citizens who were expelled from the UAE after its blockade against Qatar. 

Following Qatar’s submission, the ICJ reached a provisional order in July which found the UAE to be in violation of CERD and outlined requirements to uphold the rights of Qatari citizens who have been forced to leave the UAE. 

HBKU’s College of Law and Public Policy (CLPP) offers an innovative law program that aims to equip graduate students with the skills they need to navigate complex civil, common and Sharia law systems. The college's Juris Doctor (JD) program is the first graduate law degree of its kind offered in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The panel discussion is open to the public and will be held at the Minaretein Building (formerly the College of Islamic Studies Building) in Education City on Wednesday, October 10, 2018 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.