On April 10, five Australian women who were allegedly forced to undergo strip searches at Hamad Airport in Doha will not be able to seek compensation from Qatar Airways. But their lawsuit against their subsidiary, the airport operator, is still ongoing.
The incident initially began on October 2, 2020, when the five were among the hundreds of women who were forcibly removed from the plane in Doha, when authorities were searching the mother of a newborn found in the terminal's bathroom.
The five are legally unnamed.
Many of these women said they were taken off the plane by armed guards and forced to undergo non-consensual gynaecological or intimate medical examinations.
Federal court was told that a passenger was strip-searched while holding his five-month-old son.
Another passenger, who was elderly and blind, was taken out of the cabin, but was not searched.
Federal Court Judge John Halley said on Wednesday (April 10) that the women's allegations against Qatar Airways were not in line with the International Aviation Liability Agreement. The agreement stipulates that people can only sue airlines within certain limits.
"I conclude that the principle of exclusivity precludes the possibility of the Applicant from making any claim for damages against Qatar Airways, which provides a complete answer to the question of the Applicant's attempt to claim compensation against Qatar Airways," Judge Halley said. ”
The judge found that the women's case against the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority could not proceed because it was a separate entity located in a foreign country.
However, the judge ruled that the case against the Doha airport operator, Qatar Airports Operations and Management Company (MATAR), should continue under the revised statement of claims.
MATAR is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qatar Airways.
Damian Sturzaker of Marque Law Firm, a lawyer for the five women, said: "We are looking carefully at the reasons given by the court and if we can, we will consider all avenues of appeal. ”
"We note that the claim against the airport operator, Qatar Airports Operations and Management Company, remains unresolved. Our client's determination to continue to pursue claims remains undiminished. ”
Meanwhile, the federal court will hear the case again on May 10.
QS Subject Rankings 2024: Which Australian universities are in the top 10 globally?
In the QS World University Rankings by Subject, released on Wednesday (10 April), nine Australian universities were in the top 10 in a number of subjects.
The ranking includes 55 subjects across the five universities' subject areas, with a total of 1,559 institutions in the subject rankings this year.
In the QS rankings released in June 2023, the University of Melbourne was ranked 14th, the highest in Australia. In this subject ranking, the university made it into the top 10 for sports-related subjects (ranked ninth) and law (ranked 10th), with a total of 53 subjects in the top 100.
However, the University of Melbourne has dropped from last year in 24 subject rankings. Among them, nursing dropped from 17th to 27th, and natural sciences dropped from 46th to 57th.
Other subjects that have dropped in the rankings include education, mathematics, computer science, engineering, psychology, and more.
The University of Sydney made 52 subjects in the top 100, with its sport-related subjects ranking fourth for the third year in a row, while anatomy and physiology rose seven places to sixth.
Monash University is ranked second in Pharmacy & Pharmacology, with 45 subjects in the top 100.
The Australian National University (ANU) has the largest number of subjects in the top 10 of the QS Subject Rankings, including Archaeology (8th), Politics (8th), Anthropology (9th), Philosophy (9th) and Development Studies (10th).
Australian universities are strong performers in Engineering-Minerals & Mining, with four universities in the top 10 – Curtin University (second), the University of New South Wales (third), the University of Queensland (fourth) and the University of Western Australia (seventh).
In addition, the University of New South Wales is ranked ninth in petroleum engineering and law, the University of Queensland is ranked second in sports-related subjects, and the University of Adelaide is ranked seventh in petroleum engineering.