Finding and reading Qatar's laws on Al Meezan

Who this is for

Anyone who needs the actual text of a Qatari law: employees and employers checking the Labour Law, tenants and landlords, company founders, students and researchers. This guide explains how to use the portal; it does not interpret any law.

Before you start

• The law's name or number and year, for example "Law No. 14 of 2004" (the Labour Law). If you don't have them, a keyword in Arabic or English is enough to start.
• An internet browser. No account is needed to search and read, as far as we could see; the portal also has a sign-in option.

Steps

1. Open the portal and pick a language

   Go to almeezan.qa. A switch at the top changes between Arabic and English. The home page shows the main sections: Legislation, Agreements, Judgments, Fatwas, Regulations and Documents, the Media Centre, and a link to the Official Gazette. It also lists some of the most important laws, such as the Permanent Constitution, the Criminal Procedure Law and the Labour Law.

2. Search by word, phrase, number or year

   The main search box accepts a word, a phrase, a law number or a year of issue. The portal's own search help suggests short clear keywords (for example "Companies"), putting an exact title between quotation marks, and using the law number and year when you have them.

3. Narrow the results with advanced search

   Advanced search lets you filter by document type, legislation number, year of issue, status, subject, issuing body or date. On a law's page you can also search by title, number, type and year.

4. Read the legislation card first

   Each law page opens with a card showing its type (for example law), number, date in both the Gregorian and Hijri calendars, number of articles, and status, such as "in force". Below it are the Official Gazette details: issue number, publication date and page. For the Labour Law the card shows: law number 14, dated 19 May 2004, 152 articles, in force, published in Official Gazette issue 9 on 6 July 2004, page 229.

5. Read the text by chapter and download it

   The page lists the preamble and chapters with their article ranges, and has a box to search inside the articles. You can download the law as a PDF, print it, copy its link, or show a QR code for it.

6. Check the Official Gazette and later changes

   A law takes effect as its own text says: for example Law No. 12 of 2024 on Qatarization was published in the Official Gazette on 17 October 2024, and its Article 17 sets its start six months later. The Official Gazette section lists issues by number and year as downloadable files. Laws are often amended, so search again by title or subject to see whether a newer law changes the one you are reading.

Useful numbers and apps

• Al Meezan support +974 4406 9998 Source
• Al Meezan support (second line) +974 4406 9994 Source
• Al Meezan email almeezan@contactcenter.gov.qa Source

Good to know

• At the time we checked, the portal's home page counted 9,247 legislations, about 70 thousand articles, 716 agreements, 1,462 judgments and 625 fatwas. These figures change.
• Some laws are issued as a decree-law (marsoom bi-qanoon), for example Decree-Law No. 19 of 2007 on traffic. Look at the "type" on the legislation card rather than assuming.
• The portal also has a mobile app, a section for investment legislation and a section for the financial and banking sector.
• Older web addresses of Al Meezan pages (the LawView.aspx and LawArticles.aspx type) took us to the home page when we tried them, so bookmark a law's current link from its page rather than an old one.
• For what a law means in your own situation, consult a qualified lawyer or the competent authority.