RIYADH, 29 May — The Kingdom’s consultative Shoura Council reconvenes today for a new annual session during which it is expected to deal with a number of important economic draft laws. Prince Abdullah, the regent, will inaugurate the new session with a speech outlining the country’s foreign and domestic policies, which is likely to focus on the Middle East conflict and local economic issues.
The council was set up in 1993 with 60 members appointed by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd. Membership was increased to 90 in the second term in 1997 and to 120 in the third term in 2001. The Shoura has only advisory powers and does not legislate, but its role has been boosted in the past few years as it passed a number of important bills in the economic, social, educational and other domains.
Under Saudi law, the council’s decisions are not binding on the government, but as it works closely with the Cabinet, its decisions are normally endorsed and implemented.
In practice, the council debates bills normally proposed by the government departments, sometimes introducing minor amendments and voting them into laws. These laws, or “statutes,” then go to the government, which must approve them before they come into force.
Sheikh Muhammad ibn Jubair, a leading Islamic scholar and an expert on Shariah, was the first to be named the Shoura president in 1993 and held the post until his death in January. He was replaced in February by Sheikh Saleh ibn Humaid, who is one of the imams and khateebs of the Grand Mosque in Makkah.
The Shoura has received full support from the Saudi leadership, and its functions have become “one of the sources of development in the country,” Humaid told the official SPA news agency on the eve of the new session.
The council, two-thirds of whose members hold doctorates in various fields, has contributed to reforming the Kingdom’s justice system by passing three laws, chiefly a criminal law outlining the rights of defendants and detainees.
