There is a drastic need to change the entire Saudi legal system. The system does not need temporary changes or modifications. Saudi legal expert Kamil Ahmad Al-Shamsi said in a report: “The current attempts to establish courts for issues relating to traffic, the economy, business and sports are efforts that ignore the main problem that is worsening by the second.”
Al-Shamsi believes that we must start changing the legal system which should be considered society’s safety valve. He also added that we should avoid the contradictions that arise from the way the Kingdom is run on a daily basis. His recommended changes can be summed up as follows:
There is a necessity to establish faculties in the Kingdom that teach law. Their curricula should be derived from the curricula of foreign institutes that teach law. We need to establish civic courts administered by judges who have graduated from law colleges. These judges also need to have degrees obtained from abroad. We need to re-establish legal courts (that have been recently called public courts). These courts must be specialized in handling legitimate cases. There is a need to establish a revolutionary training center for judges that will help them improve their legal skills and advance in their field.
We need to use the expertise of other more advanced Arab countries in civic law and sign contracts with cadres from these countries who can serve as consultants and judges. We should also make use of all of the current legal systems that exist in the Kingdom by changing them according to what is needed. Discrimination needs to be eradicated.
A new law that defines the rights and duties of citizens and the limits and privileges of the authorities needs to be put in place. The law must be used in dealing with the problems of individuals and society in general according to changes that are happening everywhere. We also need to establish a lawyers’ union (of law graduates) to act as a support system for the legal system in providing lawyers to represent all cases and cancel the system of “random power of attorney.” We also need to implement a system of defense after developing it to meet the appropriate changes in this field.
Finally, we have to remind ourselves that regardless of how advanced our rules and regulations are, the practical implementation of these laws is what matters. Therefore, the new legal system — even if the Shoura Council members approve it with all its flaws — is still insufficient unless judges implement it properly.
