Saudi courts go paperless as e-litigation gains foothold

Cairo: Saudi administrative courts will no longer handle lawsuits filed in paper as e-litigation is going ahead in the country.

Chief of Saudi Administrative Judiciary Council Khaled Al Youssif has issued a decree to stop using paper in lodging suits and memoranda with the administrative courts , Saudi newspaper Okaz reported Sunday.

According to the decree, such suits are to be presented via services available on an electronic platform.

The decree comes after infrastructure of e-services and technical support mechanisms have been completed, giving the public a smooth and easy access to various options in dealing with the administrative justice system.

Last May, the Ombudsman Department, in charge of the administrative courts in Saudi Arabia, launched an e-litigation plan including online hearings.

The step has expedited the kingdom’s shift to digitalisation and supported preventive measures to curb the spread of the new coronavirus in the kingdom.