Legislating for the age of digital transformation & AI

From Draft to Digital: Qatar’s AI-Powered Legislative Transformation

His Excellency Ibrahim Bin Ali bin Issa Al Hassan Al Mohannadi, Qatar’s Minister of Justice and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, addressed the Web Summit Lisbon 2025, outlining Qatar’s digital transformation in governance. His primary role involves reviewing and preparing draft legislation to ensure coherence and alignment with national priorities. Recognizing this complex, time-consuming process, Qatar is now leveraging technology and AI for modernization.

A cornerstone initiative is the “Smart Legislative Consultant Program.” This program originated from His Excellency’s insight during a Scale AI presentation on using AI for building permits. He proposed extending AI’s capability to assess the relevance and effectiveness of regulations themselves, leading to a collaborative team from the General Secretariat for the Council of Ministers, MCIT, and Scale AI developing the innovative solution.

The program aims to modernize legislative drafting and review, drastically reducing processing times from approximately 35 days to just 5 days. It enhances consistency, coherence, and overall quality of legislative outcomes. It also enables faster implementation of state policies while maintaining human oversight and legal responsibility.

A key feature of the Smart Legislative Consultant Program is its ability to compare draft legislation with similar laws in selected international jurisdictions, ensuring global best practices are considered. His Excellency confirmed the program’s successful launch, with legal researchers already providing positive feedback on its utility.

This rapid advancement is strongly supported by the highest levels of government. Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman bin Jassim Al Thani actively oversees digital transformation efforts. He established a Supreme Committee for Digital Excellence in Government to ensure unified and coherent implementation across all ministries.

Success relies heavily on robust partnerships, particularly with entities like Scale AI, which co-create solutions tailored to Qatar’s institutional and legal context. This collaborative approach extends an open invitation to global policymakers, innovators, and tech pioneers to engage with Qatar’s government on real challenges, fostering mutual progress.

Qatar’s broader vision is to become a regional innovation hub, requiring a flexible and open mindset among its leaders. His Excellency quoted the Prime Minister: “Energy is our power… diversification is our resilience, and… Technology is the future.” This statement underscores technology’s strategic importance as a fundamental driver for the nation’s development.

For the legal sector, digital transformation holds profound significance, directly impacting trust, access, and the rule of law. Technology is seen as an enabler for superior justice outcomes and legal services, not a replacement for judicial independence or professional legal responsibility. It is fundamentally about safeguarding core values and enabling a progressive future.

This transformation is a strategic national priority, not an option. The clear objective is to build an agile, transparent, and responsive legal ecosystem that effectively serves the needs of citizens, businesses, and investors. The government acknowledges that achieving this ambitious goal requires strong partnerships with the private sector, academia, legal tech pioneers, and international institutions.

Platforms like Web Summit are vital for bringing these diverse communities together, fostering crucial conversations that often lead to meaningful innovations. His Excellency concluded by inviting ideas to further strengthen Qatar’s legislative system, reiterating the nation’s commitment, as showcased by the Doha Law Forum, to creating a trustworthy and secure business environment for all investments.