JEDDAH, 2 June 2007 — Courts in Jeddah have a huge backlog of cases and it would take nearly two years to consider them all in the absence of action to rectify the situation, Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported yesterday quoting a senior court official.
“Jeddah courts are currently examining 23,000 cases, of which 12,000 involve individual rights, and the backlog of cases to be looked at would require at least 550 days to complete,” said Sheikh Rashid Al-Huzaa, president of the Jeddah Courts.
Al-Huzaa, who was addressing a meeting with the lawyers’ committee of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said a committee would study ways to clear the backlog. He also stressed the need to set up a real estate commission to take speedy decisions on cases relating to real estate.
Al-Huzaa said that the cooperation of reconciliation committees in chambers of commerce and industry, courts and district offices would ease the burden from general courts and speed up the settlement of cases.
He said lawyers would be permitted to enter courts with their portfolios from next Saturday.
The lawyers’ committee had requested the head of the courts to exempt lawyers from inspection at court entrances and give them permission to bring in portfolios and files that are necessary to defend clients effectively.
Participants in the meeting welcomed proposals for the expansion of activities of the reconciliation committees, particularly regarding commercial disputes, as this would release the billions of riyals lying idle while awaiting court decisions.
Al-Huzaa said the courts and the lawyers committee were considering ways to expedite the registration and accreditation of lawyers to represent clients in courts and to monitor the daily progress of cases. The lawyers’ committee also requested a network linking all courts, including the Court of Grievances and various judicial committees to allow them to monitor latest legal developments.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Abdullah Al-Asheikh is scheduled to open the new building of the public notary office in the Muruj district of Riyadh today, SPA said. The minister will also discuss ways to improve services and remove difficulties faced by the notary offices, Muhammad Al-Kharji, chief of the public notary office said. “The new office will be helpful in expediting work and simplify formalities at the notary public office,” he said, adding that the number of public notaries in the office has been increased to 25.
