Article 38
No ci zen shall be exiled from or denied re‐entry to the country.
Article 39
An accused person is presumed innocent un l convicted before a court of law, wherein the necessary guarantees
of the right of self‐defence are secured.
Article 40
No crime and no punishment shall apply, save as prescribed by the Law, and the criminal laws shall have no
retrospec ve effect (Nullum crimen, nulla poena sine praevia lege poenali). Punishment is personal to the offender
such that sentences are non‐transferrable and inalienable.
No provisions of the criminal Code shall have retrospec ve effect. However, it may be s pulated otherwise by a
majority of two‐thirds of the Shura Council in the case of non‐criminal provisions.
Article 41
Qatari na onality and the rules governing it shall be prescribed by law, and the same shall have a similar power to
that of the Cons tu on.
Article 42