RIYADH, 30 April — The law of limitations, which allows dropping of penal action in a criminal case after a certain period of time, will not be included in the bill on criminal procedures currently being discussed in the Shoura Council.
Council’s Secretary-General Hamoud Al-Badr announced this on Saturday after a council session which continued discussions on a criminal procedure code for the country. The council started deliberations on the draft bill last week.
The secretary-general pointed out that the Saudi criminal procedure code will have several distinctive features compared to legal systems in other countries. They include dropping of charges in the event the accused repents earnestly for his crime. This is based on the importance given to repentance particularly in cases involving man’s sins against Allah.
He said under the Saudi code the state would not be the sole authority to drop a case or seek punishment for a crime. The injured party will enjoy the right in cases involving retributive punishment.
The council discussed articles concerning disputes between two or more courts, Al-Badr said. The regulations also cover arrest of an accused, investigations, court procedures and execution of verdicts.
The proposed regulations also set certain limits to the activities of inquiry officials and stressed the need to respect and protect witnesses. The council has decided to step up its activities by increasing the number of weekly sittings to complete the discussions in record time.
