Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH – Technological advancement will contribute to expediting procedures at commercial courts in the Kingdom. Following the full automation of all office tasks in courtrooms, any petition will be heard by a court bench within 20 days of its filing.

Previously, the period of wait for the first hearing was a minimum of two months.

The first commercial court in the Kingdom was inaugurated in Riyadh by Justice Minister Dr. Walid Al-Samaani early this year as part of the restructuring of the judiciary.

The Justice Ministry decided to adopt electronic services in its bid to promote paperless transactions in courts.

Speedy disposal of disputes will boost the business sector and create a better economic environment as it will ensure the protection of commercial rights and in turn market stability. It will also contribute to attracting more foreign investment to the Kingdom.

Unlike before, no paperwork is seen in the hands of court officials these days. They handle all court procedures with the support of the computer networks. The ministry has trained the court staff to cope with the technological development.

Faraj Al-Dossari, chief justice of the commercial court in Riyadh, emphasized his court’s efforts to complete all judicial procedures quickly.

“We are in the process of developing a system to deal with cases and procedures electronically,” Al-Dossari said while speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette.

“Cases are now passed to relevant benches through electronic channels,” he added.

There is a 100 percent increase in the number of judicial benches and court staff. “This has also contributed to speeding up judicial procedures,” he said.

The number of judges rose from 28 to 57 while the number of benches rose from 10 to 21. In addition, more specialized judicial benches were set up to look into complicated cases.

“At present, commercial courts look into cases if one of the parties in a conflict is a trader. In the past, the commercial disputes committees in the courts took up a case only when both parties to the disputes were businessmen,” he explained.

The presence of relevant judicial offices at the commercial court building has also helped speed up justice, Al-Dossari said. At the court, the front office will provide necessary services to clients who wanted to file their cases.

An employee at the front desk will very whether all relevant papers and documents are attached before uploading the details of the case to the ministry’s website. Each case is then passed to relevant benches for hearing. The court office will notify the parties of the date of hearing.

In front of every court hall, big screens have been installed to inform clients the time and date for hearing their cases. There are other screens to display details of court procedures.

“The electronic system in the court links judges with clients as well as the court staff. The system enables the judge to understand who is present in the court for hearing after the concerned official recorded the names of clients who have appeared for a hearing,” he added.