Issa, Minister of Justice, has lauded the judicial development project of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, describing it as a “turning point in the history of the judiciary”. Speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette, Al-Issa said that the project was a “qualitative transition of development and modernization” that is “backed with material, moral and human support”. The progress of the project, he added, was being personally followed with the greatest of interest by King Abdullah. “The project has enabled the opening of appeals courts and put in place the right work environment for the opening of the High Court,” Al-Issa said. “The new judicial authority law has been issued entailing a number of rulings coming from the creation of specialized courts, the reformulation of levels of litigation to create appeals courts and a high court, frees up the Supreme Judicial Council for personnel affairs for judges, and transfers the judicial works sent to the former council to the High Court.” Al-Issa said that preparing the way for the proper role of the judiciary has required two courses of action, the first concerning the transitional period through leasing, and the second involving building up the role of the judiciary, for which the ministry has fulfilled the administrative, financial and legal requirements to set up 70 courts and notaries public. “There has also been a sizable injection in terms of judicial administrative support staff and over 170 notaries public in a single year, which is close to a quarter of the number of notaries public there have been since the founding of the ministry,” he said. He added that the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques project covers 478 judicial facilities and said that a significant advancement has been made in the use of computer technology in the judiciary, citing the ministry's website portal which, when given approval from the relevant authorities, he said would provide a “range of special services for documentation procedures”. “This is all in addition to the project related to the redesign of trial procedures and notaries public which has been studied and documented, and work is currently going on to bring it into effect,” the minister said. Al-Issa added that a number of judicial measures have been shortened, leading to international recognition for the speed of registering real estate property ownership. “The Kingdom topped the list as the fastest out of 183 countries,” Al-Issa said. Other legal specialists and judges agree that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques project has led to considerable accomplishments, and note that SR7 billion has been made available for it. Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Qarni, President of the General Court, said the judiciary was witnessing a “great historical step forward” with the project which has “rebuilt the judicial structure in the Kingdom” and “prepared it for the complete development of the judiciary”. “The Kingdom has, in the age of King Abdullah, gone through years full of accomplishments, raising the paths of advancement and development,” he said. Appeals Court Judge Rashid Al-Hazza' said that judicial development was accelerating to keep pace with economic, social and political developments. “New laws and amendments have been issued, and new, specialized courts have been set up, and changes to levels of litigation have been made along with the restructuring of the support structure to match new judicial regulations,” he said. Judge Abdul Latif Al-Harithy of the Administrative Court said the project was concerned for the “sovereignty of Shariah Law which is based on justice and equality for everyone”, adding that the development project would allow “extensive flexibility and room for looking at cases so precision rulings can be given to arrive at a just end”. District Court Judge Turki Al-Qarni highlighted the project's setting up of specialized courts, while Abdul Rahman Al-Husseini, a judge at Jeddah's General Court, described it as “ahead of its time”. “Everyone will see new buildings which are appropriate for the judiciary and judges,” he said. “The project seeks to produce new generations of qualified and highly-trained judges to take up the reins.” Sheikh Hamad Al-Khudhairi of the General Court in Jeddah said that one of the most notable aspects of the project is the updating and development of the judiciary through the “speeding up in resolving disputes, giving each party his due, and the modernization of judicial regulations and advancement towards a specialist judiciary”. Majid Al-Adwan, manager of the Computer Technology Department at the Ministry of Justice, said the project further entailed the creation of electronic technology infrastructure at all court buildings and notary public facilities in the country. “The process is accelerating, and is working towards preparing 400 new courthouses and notaries public,” he said. “The aim is computerize work processes at all courthouses and notaries public and make procedures and measures easier, computerizing also the work of the Ministry of Justice.” Al-Adwan said that the system would also include computerized inspection and auditing, and said that 70 percent of courts in the Kingdom are now connected up to the computerized system and can be monitored and checked through it. “The Minister of Justice is closely following the computerization of the ministry's works,” Al-Adwan said. “He has asked for the progress to be speeded up so that the highest level of precision can be achieved and for all observations concerning courts and notaries public to be addressed. The minister has said that the ministry has benefited greatly from its link-up through electronic transactions with the courts and notaries public.”
