The 77th session of the Shoura Council was presided over by its Chairman Abdullah A. Al-Asheikh.

Following the session, Shoura Council Secretary-General Muhammad Al-Ghamdi said the draft system was presented to the house by the council's committee on Islamic affairs and judicial notes.

According to Al-Ghamdi, the proposed system contains 58 articles in eight chapters, which would cater to current judicial needs.

He said the members discussed the draft regulations in length before they gave their final approval. He pointed out that the proposed system would replace the existing system, which has only 25 articles. He added the new regulations would expedite the process of arbitration and represent a major leap toward the development of the arbitration system in the Kingdom.

He hoped that the new system would resolve current problems experienced under the existing setup.

Al-Ghamdi said the draft rules were prepared by the council's committee following a detailed study on legal precedents, case laws, Islamic jurisprudence, contemporary legal systems in the Arab countries, as well as oral and written representations from experts from concerned government and non-governmental organizations.

According to the new procedure, the tribunal should consist of one or more arbitrators and the panel should comprise an odd number of officials. The arbitrator should be a fully competent person and of good moral conduct. He should hold a university degree, preferably in Shariah. In the event of more than one arbitrator at a tribunal, one of them should be appointed a president.

The proposed system clearly indicates that its provisions should be in conformity with Islamic law and international conventions to which the Kingdom is a signatory, Al-Ghamdi said.

The council also requested the relevant authorities to prepare an implementation plan of the proposed system to be submitted to the Council of Ministers for necessary action. The house requested the cooperation of the Supreme Judicial Council, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Commerce and Industry and other concerned bodies in the preparation of the cabinet paper.

The Saudi Arabian courts system is divided into the Shariah courts on the one hand, and specialized statutory tribunals on the other. The Shariah courts are courts of general jurisdiction, and they are mainly concerned with matters relating to land, family disputes, personal injury claims, and criminal cases.

Of the statutory tribunals, the most important by far is the Board of Grievances. Its jurisdiction includes disputes involving the Saudi government and government agencies.

The president of the Board of Grievances holds the rank of a government minister.

Reading the comments on a report on the national plan for communication and information technology presented by the committee on transport, communications and information technology, the house stressed the need for shift toward an information society.

The information society is one where the creation, distribution, diffusion, use, integration and manipulation of information are significant economic, political, and cultural activities. The aim of the information society is to gain a competitive advantage internationally through using IT in a creative and productive way. The knowledge economy is its economic counterpart, whereby wealth is created through the economic exploitation of understanding. People who have the means to partake in this form of society are sometimes called digital citizens.

In the morning, Al-Asheikh held talks with the Deputy Minister of Higher Education Ahmed Al-Seif on matters relating to the upcoming programs of the ministry.

The meeting was held at the headquarters of the Shoura Council in Riyadh on Sunday.

During the meeting, they reviewed issues of interest between the Shoura Council and the Ministry of Higher Education, including ways to enhance cooperation between the two bodies to serve the goals enshrined for the progress of higher education in the Kingdom.

The meeting was attended by Director of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals Khalid Al-Sultan, Rector of King Saud University Abdullah Al-Othman, Rector of King Abdulaziz University Osama Tayeb and Undersecretary to the Ministry of Higher Education for Educational Affairs  Mohammed Al-Ohali.