Al Meezan - Qatary Legal Portal | Legislations | Law No. 2 of 1980 on Antiquities

24 March 2023

03 ‏Ramadhaan 1444

Legislations of Qatar 5686 legislations - 58361 Articles
Legislations of Qatar - International Agreements
Legislations of Qatar- Rulings

Law No. 2 of 1980 on Antiquities

Law Summary Record Type: LawNumber: 2Date: 16/02/1980 Corresponding to 30/03/1400 HijriNumber of Articles: 43Status: In force

Official Gazette :Issue: 2Offcial Journal Issue Publication Date: 01/01/1980 Corresponding to 13/02/1400 HijriPage from: 14

Send

Top

First Section of Law

Previous Section of Law

Next Section of law

Last Article of Law

Add New Section

Section Name

Excavation of antiquities

30 Article

Excavation of antiquities shall include all excavations, boring and other works for the purpose of discovering movable and immovable antiquities above or belowground or in territorial waters

QMA is the sole competent authority entitled to undertake or authorize excavation works by scientific societies and archaeological missions to explore the antiquities under special license pursuant to this law. No entity or individual - even if the landowner- shall undertake any excavation of antiquities unless permitted by license from QMA.

32 Article - Amended

QMA shall agree with the landowner on the principle of excavation and the amount of compensation for any damage caused. In the event no agreement is reached, the land may be held through administrative procedure without prejudice to the provisions of article 13 herein.

33 Article - Amended

Excavation licenses shall not be granted to archaeological bodies, societies and delegations unless upon verification of their scientific and financial competences. QMA may require certain technical elements within the entities that undertake such excavation.

34 Article - Amended

The following particulars shall be included in licenses required for excavation of antiquities:

Capacity of licensed entity or mission, as well as previous experience in excavation for antiquities.
Determination, with supporting maps, of archaeological domain to be excavated.
Project execution timeline.
Any other conditions deemed necessary by QMA.

35 Article - Amended

The licensed entity shall abide by the following conditions:

Photograph and draft archaeological sites;
Promptly register the discovered antiquities in special records;
Provide proper security and care;
Provide QMA with excavation results at short intervals;
Provide a brief report at the end of each season as required by QMA;
Enable QMA representatives to supervise the excavation operations; and
Safely transport discovered antiquities to the Qatar National Museum at the end of each season.

36 Article - Amended

a. The excavating entity shall publish the scientific results of its work within two years after completion. This term may be extended to five years by a decision of the QMA board of trustees.QMA may publish such results of its own accord or through other entities, without any objection thereto by the excavating entity.

In addition to copies of any films made of its discoveries, the excavating entity shall provide QMA with copies of published research and duplicates of photographs. In this case, all scientific property rights in the results of the excavations and the right of priority in publishing such results shall vest in the excavating entity.

37 Article (Repealed)

Foreign entities granted licenses of excavation shall be permitted to import necessary equipment free of customs duties, provided that such entities shall submit a list of such equipment to the Department of Tourism and Antiquity for approval of such exemption.

38 Article

a. All antiquities discovered by excavators become the property of the State. Movable items shall be deposited at Qatar National Museum and other museums to be established in future.

The archaeological missions may be awarded grants in consideration of their efforts, such as duplicates of discovered antiquities or those that can be disposed of due to the existence of similar versions of the same material, type, historical significanceand technical value.
Archaeological missions shall exhibit granted antiquities for not more than one year in a public museum or a museum related to an academic institution.

39 Article - Amended

a. Where a licensed entity violates the provisions of this law or any conditions stipulated in a license, the excavation works may be stopped immediately by a decision of the QMA board of trusteesbased on a recommendation by the concerned department.

No works may resume unless and until the violation has been remedied. Where a violation is substantial, the license may be revoked by a decision of the QMA board of trustees based on a recommendation by the concerned department.

Add Comments