Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has approved the establishment of special criminal circuits in general courts in four major cities to expedite a huge backlog of lawsuits, a local newspaper reported Monday quoting informed sources at the Justice Ministry. The criminal circuits, according to Al-Watan newspaper, will be established in the general courts of Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah and Dammam. The sources said the criminal cases have become a real burden on the general courts and need a long time to resolve. According to sources, the first of these criminal circuits will be established in Riyadh next month as a prelude to establishing them in the other three major cities. They said the circuits would be manned by highly-qualified judges and would relieve the general courts of a great burden. Majed Al-Adwan, director of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques project to promote the judicial system, said the SJC has asked for an immediate establishment of these circuits. He said the circuits will have sufficient number of specialized judges and magistrates to expedite the resolution of criminal cases.
