Page:Constitution of Qatar (English).pdf/5



Public Rights and Duties



The Citizens of Qatar shall be equal in public rights and duties.



All persons are equal before the law and there shall be no discrimination whatsoever on grounds of sex, race, language, or religion.



Personal freedom shall be guaranteed and no person may be arrested, detained, searched, neither may his freedom of residence and mobility be restricted save under the provisions of the law; and no person may be subjected to torture, or any degrading treatment; and torture shall be considered a crime punishable by law.



The sanctity of human privacy shall be inviolable, and therefore interference into privacy of a person, family affairs, home of residence, correspondence, or any other act of interference that may demean or defame a person may not be allowed save as limited by the provisions of the law stipulated therein.



No citizen shall be banished neither shall he be denied re ‐entry to his country.



An accused person is presumed innocent until his conviction is proved before a count of law wherein the necessary guarantees of the right of self‐defense are secured.



No crime and no punishment save as prescribed by the law an d no penalty save on the acts committed subsequent to the enforcement of that law; and punishment is personal. The provisions of the laws shall have no effect save on the acts committed from the date of the enforcement of the said laws. These provisions shall have no effect on the acts which occurred prior to the enforcement of the said laws; however, it may be stipulated otherwise by a majority of two ‐ thirds of Al‐Shoura Council in case of non‐criminal provisions.



The Qatari nationality and the rules governing it shall be prescribed by law, and the same shall have the similar power as that of the constitution.



The State shall ensure the right of citizens to elect and be elected in accordance with the law. Rh