Gulf | Saudi Arabia
Women lawyers 'cannot defend clients in court'
Saudi Justice Minister Dr Abdullah Al Al Shaikh has disclosed that his ministry is reviewing 20 articles of the law of procedures before Sharia courts.
- By Mariam Al Hakeem, Correspondent
- Published: 00:00 February 7, 2007
- Image Credit: AP
- The Saudi Minister of Justice has denied the ministry has received requests from women to practise all aspects of the legal profession.
Riyadh: Saudi Justice Minister Dr Abdullah Al Al Shaikh has disclosed that his ministry is reviewing 20 articles of the law of procedures before Sharia courts.
The outcome of the review will be announced soon, the minister said while addressing the third arbitrators meeting held recently at the Dammam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the eastern part of Saudi Arabia.
Responding to mounting inquiries about granting licences to Saudi female lawyers to practise the profession, the minister said the licences currently granted by the ministry to female lawyers were for legal consultation services only and not to defend clients in court.
He denied the ministry was receiving requests from Saudi female lawyers to practise all aspects pertaining to the profession.
He pointed out the committee who established the code of law practice is the one who issues decisions to grant licences to female lawyers and not the Ministry of Justice.
"The law was sent for review and the interpretation of the word 'lawyer' whether it covers both male and females and also to identify the benefits and shortcomings of this profession to be practised by women," he added. He pointed out that mere rejection is not a rational practice, adding that all requests to practise law are studied and reviewed within the Sharia principles and that their advantages and disadvantages are identified before a decision is taken.
For his part, Prince Bandar Bin Salman Al Saud, the advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and chairman of the Saudi Arbitration Team, said that arbitration has become a vital issue particularly as Saudi Arabia has become more open to the outside world after joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO). He noted that arbitration is part of the judicial process and is not its rival. Arbitration is a one of the tools for solving international disputes and its rulings are binding for all parties involved in a dispute, he observed.
Prince Bandar revealed that the establishment of a centre for arbitrators in Saudi Arabia would be announced soon, adding that a Saudi arbitrator is an international arbitrator.
Commenting on the setting up of an arbitration centre, the Minister of Justice explained the goal is not to establish such centres, but to actually help parties in dispute, noting that a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) arbitration centre was established but is suffering because of the few cases filed before it.
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