SAUDI ARABIA

Justice ministry takes lead in empowering women

August 16, 2017

Fatima Al-Dabis

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

DAMMAM — The Justice Ministry has taken four historic decisions during the past 10 days to protect women including minors and divorcees as well as women who demand child custody and female law graduates who want to practice the profession.

The ministry has adopted 10 measures to safeguard young girls from exploitation and prevent marriage of minors on the basis of proposals made by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, an informed source said.

Approval for marriage of girls aged 17 and below must be obtained from a specialized court, the source told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. The request for such marriages should come either from the girl or her legal guardian or mother.

The Council of Ministers has passed a new law to regulate the Alimony Fund, which was proposed by the Justice Ministry. The fund will be directly linked to the justice minister. It will have an independent budget to ensure quick payment to the beneficiaries.

The law allows payment of alimony to those women who have won lawsuits to receive it but the verdict was not implemented for some reasons. In such cases, the fund’s board would sanction temporary payment of alimony, which should be paid back to the fund by the woman’s husband, the source said.

The Supreme Judiciary Council has taken measures to ensure child custody for women as it would issue certificates stating that the child would be under the custody of its mother as long as there is no objection from any party.

The ministry has not forgotten the case of newly graduated women lawyers. It recently decided that male and female lawyers who complete their three-year diploma course in law would be given permits to practice the profession.

Last year 39 Saudi women lawyers received license to practice the profession. According to the Saudi Bar Association, there are 4,451 certified lawyers in the Kingdom and 168 of them are women. There are also 2,089 legal trainers, including 574 women, in the Kingdom.

Saudi Bar Association General Secretary Bakr Al-Habub said a total of 292 male lawyers and 41 female lawyers were certified during the second quarter of 2017.

"The second quarter of the current year had 14 percent more certified lawyers than the first quarter. The second quarter also had 645 legal trainers registered, which is an increase of 44 percent compare to the first quarter,” said Al-Habub.


August 16, 2017
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