Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced, on Monday, plans to approve a set of new draft laws aimed at enhancing the efficiency and integrity of the judicial system in the Kingdom, in a step from That would lead to a fully codified legal system.
The Crown Prince inaugurated a series of social and economic reforms aimed at modernizing the conservative kingdom, which does not have a codified legal system in line with the texts of Islamic law.
The Saudi Press Agency quoted the Emir as saying on Monday that the new draft laws are being finalized, which are the Personal Status System Project, the Civil Transactions Law Project and the Penal System Project For discretionary penalties and the draft evidentiary system, then they will be submitted to the government and the concerned bodies in addition to the Shura Council before final approval.
Prince Mohammed said in a statement that the new laws will represent a new wave of reforms, which will contribute to predictability of judgments, raise the level of integrity and efficiency of the performance of judicial agencies, and increase the reliability of procedures and control mechanisms As it is a fundamental pillar for achieving the principles of justice that impose clarity of responsibility limits and stability of legal reference, which limits individual judgment.
A Saudi official told Reuters on Monday that establishing clear rules for four major and basic laws by implementing best practices and international standards means that the Kingdom is definitely moving towards codifying the entire legal system to meet The needs of the modern world while adhering to the principles of Islamic law.
He added that while there is a decent and independent judiciary, the main criticism is that it is inconsistent and judges have great discretion in many of these cases, which leads to inconsistency and inability To predict.
The lack of written laws to decide some cases for decades led to contradictions in court rulings and lengthy trials, hurting many Saudis, most of them women.
Riyadh, for example, has long faced international criticism regarding the guardianship system, and this law was reformed in August 2019.
Prince Muhammad said that it was painful for many individuals and families, especially women, and enabled some to shirk their responsibilities, which will not be repeated if these regulations are approved according to Legal actions.
Prince Mohammed said in the statement that the new laws will be announced successively in 2021.
