JEDDAH: Individuals practicing law without a license will be subject to imprisonment or fine or both, Abdul Rahman Al-Hutan, director of the department of lawyers at the Justice Ministry said.
“Such people will be subject to punishment under Article 27 of the Lawyers’ System, which stipulates one year imprisonment or a fine of not less than SR30,000 or both,” he told Arab News. He said the step was part of efforts to promote the legal profession in the Kingdom under the new judicial system.
Yousuf Al-Farrah, chairman of the Committee to Discipline Lawyers in the Ministry of Justice, said 16 lawyers had been brought before the committee on charges of violating the rules of the profession. He added that two of them had been stopped from practicing law. He also said a number of other lawyers were referred to the Prosecution and Investigation Board for questioning under the statute to regulate the profession.
Al-Farrah said punishments against lawyers could be reviewed within 60 days by the Court of Grievances, which can uphold, annul or change the punishment.
Awad Al-Hibaili, CEO of the Jeddah Center for Law and Arbitration, said the new regulations approved by the ministry concerning litigation were aimed at reducing the number of unqualified people who practice law.
Al-Hibaili recalled that before the introduction of the new judicial system, lawyers obtained their licenses from the Ministry of Commerce. “This allowed many people, including those working in debt-collecting offices, to practice law,” he said.
He said the transfer of license for lawyers from the Ministry of Commerce to the Ministry of Justice had reduced the number of people in the profession.
According to Al-Hibaili, the conditions for obtaining law licenses include working two years with an accredited lawyer or in a legal consultancy. “Anyone who wants to be a lawyer should have a university degree in law or Shariah from a Saudi or recognized foreign university,” he said.
