The first Qatar Law Forum was held in Doha, Qatar, on 29-31 May 2009. The aim was to provide a unique opportunity to discuss the challenge of achieving global understanding and commitment to the rule of law and related issues of international legal and economic significance.
The Forum was sponsored by the Government of Qatar under the patronage of His Highness the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani. It was convened by The Rt Hon Lord Woolf of Barnes and Sir William Blair, and organised under the Directorship of Institution Quraysh. Attendees included leaders in law from sixty countries, twelve serving Chief Justices, the Presidents of the ICC and ECHR, as well as leading academics, regulators, central bankers and senior general counsel including from the IEA, IMF and ECB.
It was widely acclaimed as a unique event of international importance. Commentators and delegates described the Forum as the legal equivalent of the World Economic Forum in Davos, or the “Legal G20”.