“Lawyers should be immune from judges or investigation officials who punish them due to small disagreements that may occur when defending clients. There should be a special council to decide whether a lawyer should be penalized or not,” said Waleed Shaira, a legal consultant in Riyadh.
He said judges sometimes suspend lawyers’ licenses due to disagreements, adding that this is in stark contrast to other countries where lawyers are given legal immunity in appreciation of their efforts to serve justice, and where they are viewed as essential parts of the justice system.
Shaira said the granting of immunity would give lawyers a lot of freedom when defending clients in court. He cited several instances in which judges have ordered lawyers to be imprisoned for 24 hours due to minor disagreements.
He also said lawyers should have the right to release arrested clients on their personal responsibility.
Shaira said Saudi lawyers do not get the respect they deserve. “Many government departments and legal establishments look down on lawyers … they do not understand the important role they play,” he added.
Legal consultant Muhammad Al-Mushawwah, who is a member of the National Committee for Lawyers, said lawyers and judges are colleagues and therefore lawyers are entitled to the same immunity that judges and representatives from the Commission for Investigation and Public Prosecution enjoy.
“Some judges and commission officials violate the rights of lawyers and pay scant regard to this,” he said. He pointed out that some judges and officials behave arbitrarily due to the absence of specific regulations against such practices.
He reiterated the demand of the National Committee for Lawyers to update regulations governing the legal profession and formulate specific regulations against the excesses of lawyers. “There should be regulations to discipline lawyers who violate regulations,” Al-Mushawwah said.
