JEDDAH – Approval of three key laws by the Council of Ministers on Monday will open a new chapter in the history of judicial reforms initiated by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, according to judicial sources. The new regulations are designed to broaden the powers of general courts in the Kingdom, the sources said. The Cabinet discussed and approved drafts of the Shariah defense law, the criminal procedure law and the procedures of the Court of Grievances, and then referred them to the King for final endorsement. The general courts have been granted powers to look into all cases, petitions, and final evidences that do not come under the purview of the Court of Grievances, other courts and notaries. There is a provision in the law that gives powers to judges to drop a case if the petitioner failed to attend the court proceedings. If a petitioner failed to attend the court proceedings without a genuine reason acceptable to the judge, the court will not consider such cases unless the petitioner approaches the court again to take up the case. In case of the absence of the petitioner for a second time without a valid reason that is acceptable to the judge, then the case will be dropped. The court will take up such cases only after an order from the Supreme Court, the sources were quoted as saying in a section of the Arabic press. According to the new judicial system, the general courts will examine all cases related with real estates. These courts have also been given powers to look into cases related to traffic law violations and accident cases. There is also a provision in the law to expand the jurisdiction of civil status courts. These courts will handle all cases related to marriage, divorce, custody of children, maintenance, visit of children by parent and the like. These courts will also take up cases pertaining to endowments, inheritance, wills, and cases of minors or heirs who are reportedly missing. According to the sources, these courts will also handle cases related to taking penal action in line with the law of the general authority for handling properties of minors, in addition to confirming the power of attorney of the deaf and dumb who can't read and write, besides conducting marriage of a woman who has no guardian or whom parents prevented from getting married.
