TAIF: The reconciliation offices of various courts across the Kingdom solved 16,086 cases, most of which were related to family disputes, last year.

“There were 9,670 family and marital cases and 6,416 criminal and rights cases,” an online newspaper said on Saturday.

Ibrahim Al-Tayyar, director of media and publication in the Ministry of Justice, was quoted as saying that Shariah and social experts are selected as reconciliation officers, he said.

These officers work to solve a number of family disputes amicably and in a friendly environment to protect the social fabric, he said.

“Out of the total cases, 54 percent were sorted out by reconciliation offices. Fifty-five percent of such cases were related to family and marital disputes and 43 percent were criminal cases,” said Al-Tayyar.

The reconciliation offices make efforts in improving the skills through training programs, as well as learning from best practices in various countries, he said, adding that these offices enjoy direct support of the justice minister.