Shake-up of Saudi judicial system backed
Thursday, 11 October 2007
Heba Saleh from Cairo
SAUDI reformers, businessmen and lawyers have welcomed a royal decree overhauling the country's archaic judicial system and allocating $2.0bn (£1.0bn, €1.4bn) for building courthouses and training judges.
The Saudi system, administered by conservative judges trained in Islamic law, has long been criticised as opaque, lacking in some of the safeguards of justice and unable to deal with the modern world.
"Since the establishment of the modern Saudi state in the 1930s, there has been a struggle over what to do with the judiciary, which refused modern legislation as a matter of principle," said Abdulaziz al-Fahd, a lawyer. "But now the reforms will make us compatible with the requirements of a modern and thriving economy."
Supporters say the changes will reinforce the rule of law, help to avert miscarriages of justice and improve the business -environment.
The reforms do not undermine the centrality of Islamic law to the justice system but they seek to bring order and oversight to a sector in which defendants often lack legal representation and judges have enormous discretion to rule according to their own arbitrary interpretation of uncodified laws.
The royal decree will see the introduction of appeal courts, which can overrule the decisions of lower courts after holding fresh hearings. This will apply to both the general justice system and to the administrative justice system, which deals with cases in which the state or one of its agencies is party.
A new supreme court, its president and some of its officials appointed by the king will top the general judicial system and act as a final recourse. Observers say they expect King Abdullah to appoint people with a modernising bent.
"This will reduce the scope for archaic and calcified ideas," said Abdulaziz al-Gasim, a former judge. "In any other country this would be seen as interference, but here in Saudi Arabia it is a step towards modernisation."
The supreme court will take many of the powers currently exercised by the Higher Judicial Council, which is led by conservative clerics. The reforms envisage the creation of specialised courts to deal with labour and trade issues to fulfil the kingdom's World Trade Organisation obligations.
At the moment employment and commercial disputes are heard by committees established by ministries, but there are complaints that their decisions are not always enforceable and they can be challenged in the courts.
"The judicial system has long been a source of complaints and misgivings," said Hussein al-Shobokshi, a prominent Jeddah businessman.
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FT Syndication Service
SAUDI reformers, businessmen and lawyers have welcomed a royal decree overhauling the country's archaic judicial system and allocating $2.0bn (£1.0bn, €1.4bn) for building courthouses and training judges.
The Saudi system, administered by conservative judges trained in Islamic law, has long been criticised as opaque, lacking in some of the safeguards of justice and unable to deal with the modern world.
"Since the establishment of the modern Saudi state in the 1930s, there has been a struggle over what to do with the judiciary, which refused modern legislation as a matter of principle," said Abdulaziz al-Fahd, a lawyer. "But now the reforms will make us compatible with the requirements of a modern and thriving economy."
Supporters say the changes will reinforce the rule of law, help to avert miscarriages of justice and improve the business -environment.
The reforms do not undermine the centrality of Islamic law to the justice system but they seek to bring order and oversight to a sector in which defendants often lack legal representation and judges have enormous discretion to rule according to their own arbitrary interpretation of uncodified laws.
The royal decree will see the introduction of appeal courts, which can overrule the decisions of lower courts after holding fresh hearings. This will apply to both the general justice system and to the administrative justice system, which deals with cases in which the state or one of its agencies is party.
A new supreme court, its president and some of its officials appointed by the king will top the general judicial system and act as a final recourse. Observers say they expect King Abdullah to appoint people with a modernising bent.
"This will reduce the scope for archaic and calcified ideas," said Abdulaziz al-Gasim, a former judge. "In any other country this would be seen as interference, but here in Saudi Arabia it is a step towards modernisation."
The supreme court will take many of the powers currently exercised by the Higher Judicial Council, which is led by conservative clerics. The reforms envisage the creation of specialised courts to deal with labour and trade issues to fulfil the kingdom's World Trade Organisation obligations.
At the moment employment and commercial disputes are heard by committees established by ministries, but there are complaints that their decisions are not always enforceable and they can be challenged in the courts.
"The judicial system has long been a source of complaints and misgivings," said Hussein al-Shobokshi, a prominent Jeddah businessman.
........................................
FT Syndication Service