JEDDAH, 9 October 2005 — Lawyers have asked to be treated the same as journalists and writers. They want their own society to be established along the lines of the Saudi Journalists Association and the Writers League.
The request was first presented two years ago to the Justice Ministry. At a meeting with Justice Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Asheikh at Okaz Arabic newspaper last week, a group of lawyers repeated their request to form a society.
Dr. Al-Asheikh said that the proposal would be fully studied. He promised the lawyers that the society would be established soon though he did not specify exactly when.
At present, Saudi lawyers have committees within the Kingdom’s chambers of commerce. The committees’ role, however, is limited to “holding seminars and courses for lawyers,” said lawyer Khaled Abu Rashed.
Dr. Hussein Al-Sharif, head of the Law Department at King Abdul Aziz University and a senior member of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), said the main purpose of the society would be defending lawyers’ rights and monitoring their practice.
“It is also important to eliminate the burden of supervision that the Justice Ministry has to endure,” he said.
According to Abu Rashed, the society’s main goals will be to set out lawyers’ duties, secure their rights and to develop their proficiency. He stressed that the society must have power to manage lawyers’ concerns successfully.
“There are many areas that the society will deal with, but we have to wait until it is formed and then we can discuss what it can and will do,” Abu Rashed added.
About four years ago a royal decree established the present system of law practice. Lawyers now are given permits from the Justice Ministry whereas previously, they were licensed by the Ministry of Commerce. At that time, they were restricted to handling labor and commercial or business cases. The new system, on the other hand, allows them to handle all cases.
Because of the recent changes, Saudis in general are not fully aware of what lawyers can and cannot do. In some cases, this lack of awareness extends to judges.
“In the past there was a stereotype of a lawyer,” said Dr. Al-Sharif. He said people thought lawyers were only interested in money and would only accept certain cases.
Some judges were skeptical of plaintiffs who requested a lawyer to represent them as the judges believed there was no need for lawyers since they themselves would issue a correct verdict according to the Shariah.
“Before the present system was set up, virtually anyone without any legal training could act as a lawyer,” explained Abu Rashed. The situation has changed and lawyers are required to have a bachelor’s degree and to be licensed by the Justice Ministry.
Lawyers need to correct people’s erroneous ideas about them and what they do. In order to do so effectively, they need a recognized body to speak on their behalf. It is not clear at this point if the society will be independent or if it will function as a part of the ministry. Most lawyers and other informed people feel that the most important thing is to set the body up since the number of lawyers is increasing and their work directly affects an increasing number of citizens.
The society’s board of directors will either be appointed by the ministry or voted on by the lawyers themselves. “As a senior member of the NSHR, I certainly prefer voting,” said Dr. Al-Sharif. Abu Rashed agreed that the lawyers should vote in order to choose the board members.
