(MENAFN - Arab News) Justice Minister Muhammad Al-Eisa said on Thursday the Kingdom's efforts to revamp the judicial system were well under way and that women would eventually be allowed to practice as lawyers representing women clients.
Speaking at a meeting of heads of notaries in Riyadh, the minister said the judicial reforms will not only modernize the system but also reduce the backlog of cases by adding more basic infrastructure, like more courthouses.
"The judicial plan developed in cooperation with King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals will help decrease the number of cases in the Kingdom's courts," Al-Eisa added.
He said he would support more interaction among the different departments of the judiciary and the government to ensure closer coordination in applying a reformed justice system that adheres to Shariah.
The minister also said that the courts in the Kingdom are flooded with frivolous lawsuits and cases that cause delays in the disposal of genuine cases.
The ministry is also making efforts to register more lawyers and grant them licenses to practice law in the Kingdom. Under recent reforms, a foreigner may practice law in the Kingdom if he has a degree from a Shariah college, a valid visa and a minimum of three years experience in the legal profession.
Speaking about women lawyers, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Guwair, director of the Department of Lawyers at the Saudi Ministry of Justice, said they would soon be allowed to represent women clients.
"The women will be issued a restrictive form of license that will give them access to certain areas of the courts and in cases in which they are representing women clients only," he said.
Saudi Arabia had finalized plans to establish new commercial courts in all 13 provinces. Moreover, the ministry has also announced that the verdicts pronounced by the courts will also now be published on the Justice Ministry's website.
On the training front, a number of judges have been sent to Western countries, including the US and Germany, for training in commercial disputes. Courtrooms have been upgraded with computers and copy machines to facilitate registration of verdicts. About 1,200 Saudi judges are currently serving in the Kingdom on the Supreme Judicial Council (the Saudi high court), the Court of Cassation (appellate court) and general and summary courts.
Ghazanfar Ali Khan
Source: Middle East North Africa Financial Times (MENAFN).
Link: http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093282705&src=NLEN.
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