Riyadh: Saudi Arabia will soon announce a new law to deal with the problem of underage marriages, according to Shaikh Saleh Bin Humaid, chairman of the Saudi Supreme Judiciary Council.
"We will take the best [practices] from judicial systems across the world," he said, while reaffirming that this would not undermine the fundamentals of Islamic Shariah law, which forms the basis of the Kingdom's judiciary.
High-ranking Saudi judicial delegations would embark on a wide tour of several European and Arab countries, Bin Humaid told Gulf News.
"The delegations will examine closely the salient features of the judicial systems prevalent in those countries. We will adopt many provisions in these systems, in line with the basic Shariah principles," he said.
Bin Humaid, the top figure in Saudi judiciary, also underscored the independent and impartial nature of the Kingdom's judiciary.
"We have set up specialised courts to deal with cases related with commercial disputes, labour problems, criminal and civil matters and traffic issues," he said.
Meanwhile, a number of Saudi and foreign legal experts told Gulf News that the most important steps taken by the government to improve the judicial system was the project for improving the efficiency and competence of judges in quantity and quality, and introduction of highly advanced technologies in expediting the judicial process.
Noted Saudi lawyer Naif Al Otaibi said that the Kingdom's drive to overhaul the judicial system is one of the landmark projects being implemented by the government.
"This will be a major step forward in ensuring fair justice without delay for all the citizens and expatriates, as well as for individuals and firms," he said.
On his part, Rafaat Basyuni, an Egyptian legal consultant, underlined the need for taking advantage of all the regulations pertaining to human rights while overhauling the Kingdom's judicial system.
