The Board of Directors of Public Companies: A Comparative Analysis of the Corporate Governance Framework in the State of Qatar and Australia, Measured Against the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance

Abstract:     
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development established a set of principles in 1998 to promote consistency, transparency and efficiency in the duties and responsibilities of directors of corporations. Examples of duties covered by the principles include the duty to act in good faith, the fair treatment of minority shareholders and risk and independence management. In Australia the Corporations Act 2001 reflects the OECD’s principles to a large extent, particularly with respect to the imposition of binding duties on directors that establish accountability. Any principles not adopted by the Corporations Act 2001 are covered broadly in the ASX Principles of Corporate Governance. The Companies Law in Qatar on the other hand, reflect the OECD’s principles to a lesser extent than their Australian counterpart. The Companies Law of Qatar lacks the depth and foresight of the OECD principles, particularly with respect to directors’ fiduciary duties, stakeholder protective measures and key executive succession planning strategies. To make up for these deficiencies, the QFMA Code of Corporate Governance has made several suggestions and recommendations in line with the OECD principles that are aimed at modernizing Qatari corporations laws. However despite the QFMA Code, it is clear that Qatar needs to, among other things, introduce stronger remedies for shareholders to seek redress for violation of their rights and establish the need for independent directors on the board.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 38

Keywords: Corporate Governance in Qatar

JEL Classification: G34

Accepted Paper Series