This message could have been ignored had it not come from Dr. Badriyyah who always listens more than she talks. She is the personification of the saying "brevity is the soul of wit."

I remembered what Dr. Badriyyah had said when I came to know about the decisions which were recently issued by the Justice Ministry. These decisions were an indication of the minister's strong belief in the possibility of further developing the performance of the ministry in a manner that would be beneficial to citizens and expatriates. This showed that the minister was determined to implement the project of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to promote the entire judicial system in the Kingdom.

The minister recently indicated that the ministry had adopted substitute punishments for discretionary cases so as to achieve the interest of the society. He also said the ministry would seek the advice of international experts on the issue.

Al-Issa has talked about linking all the courts electronically through the Internet. The courts will issue their rulings electronically and will have screens to show the list of charges and enable the litigators to follow the court's deliberations.

I was also happy to know that the ministry has established special elevators in its new building for litigators and separate ones for men and women prisoners. The ministry also made special sections for women social workers and receptionists.

This has in fact encouraged me to ask the minister to allow female lawyers to stand in courts specially in cases involving women. I hope that the minister will find a mechanism that will enable women lawyers appear in courts.

I would also like to request him to visit the halls specified for women in the ministry's new building to make sure that they are as well equipped as those of men before the official opening of the building. It is not unusual to see sections specified for women in any facility to be neglected. This is not in courts alone but also in hospitals and in the special places made for women to pray at the airports.

I was particularly exulted by the announcement recently made by the minister that the old system of recognition of women will be replaced by the system of fingerprinting. This system, to be applied both by the justice and interior ministries, will relieve women from the trouble of unveiling their faces or bringing men to recognize them. A woman will just have to enter her identity into the fingerprinting machine and all her data will appear before the judge who will immediately recognize her. This system will also put an end to the crimes of impersonation.