GCC justice ministers meet in Doha

GCC justice ministers on Tuesday held their 27th meeting under the chairmanship of the State of Qatar's Justice Minister Dr. Hassan bin Lahdan Saqr Al Mohannadi, according to Qatar News Agency (QNA).
The minister said that the meeting approved the extradition treaty between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, in addition to several topics on the meeting agenda, including exchanging expertise in the fields of judicial training, law professions and family reconciliation. The meeting also discussed a number of topics which will achieve cooperation in the judicial and legal cooperation between member states to realize the vision of GCC leaders, he added.

In remarks following the meeting, Dr. Al Mohannadi said the GCC justice minister discussed Qatar's proposal on establishing a network for Gulf lawyers to boost legal cooperation and facilitate exchange of expertise among the GCC states.

Responding to a question on whether the meeting has discussed the issue of terrorism, Dr. Al Mohannadi said that the ministers have initially approved the a proposal on preparing a GCC unified counterterrorism law, pointing that the proposal will be referred to the officials in the international cooperation committee to study and present it at the next meeting.

On the legal and judicial challenges that face the GCC states, the justice minister said that the conditions in these countries are similar and that they seek to develop a common vision. He noted that the cabinet has recently ratified the criminal law to criminalize the misuse of social networks, adding that one of the topics on the meeting's agenda dealt with the use of social networks, QNA reported.