Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Personal status courts have issued about 250,000 rulings in the past 12 months, a Ministry of Justice report said on Wednesday.

The Saudi justice system has recently seen major reforms, which includes pro-family decisions to accelerate procedures in order to create more efficiency in terms of rulings inside family courts, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said.

The paperless court project launched earlier at the Riyadh Family Court started to yield good results, following digital integration between first instance courts and appellate courts — which allows digital appeal. Ministry indicators show that this integration reduced procedural time and reflected positively on the level of achievement inside the court.

The rulings resolved various types of cases, including marriage and divorce, alimony, custody and visitation, inheritance, endowments and wills, and minors’ cases.

According to the ministry statistics, the Makkah Region tops the list with 74,154 rulings; followed by Riyadh with 56,390; the Eastern Province with 31,889; and Madinah with 17,289.