Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdullah Al-Humaid, Chairman of the Higher Judiciary Council, presided over the Council's four-day meeting held in Taif which on Sunday adopted a number of decisions, including the criteria for the establishment of appeal circuits in the Kingdom's provinces. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Muhammed Bin Al-Yahyia, the Council's Secretary General, said the Council reviewed all aspects of the plan to establish appeal courts in those regions of the Kingdom where such courts do not currently exist, including Tabuk, Hail, Al-Baha, Jizan, Najran and the Northern Frontier. Additionally, the Council's members discussed the criteria for the establishment of appeal circuits in the provinces, such as the amount of work in the province and the distance from the nearest appeal court. Apart from this, the Council amended the fifth Article of the “Transfer of Judges” with the objective of appointing judges to remote areas and also gave its directives for compiling a rule defining the financial incentives that would be offered to judges working in these areas. The Council also reviewed the necessary measures for the classification of the courts according to which incentives would be offered. These measures included the reduction of the transfer period for judges from three to two years. The council also has relieved a number of judges from their post, including Sheikh Rashid Bin Inrahim Al-Ghunaim, Sheikh Muhammed Bin Ali Al-Yahyia, Sheikh Abdul Rahman Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Faraj, Sheikh Abdul Abdul Raheem Bin Abdullah Al-Gassim, Sheikh Muhammed Bin Saleh Al-Matawae and Sheikh Bin Saleh Al-Aql. It also approved some new appointments and the assignment of judges to different regions and provinces of the Kingdom.
