By Arwa Khushaifati
JEDDAH — The Ministry of Justice has reported a decline of 9 to 43 percent in the settlement of legal cases during the past two years.
A source said the ministry’s website used to have a Key Progress Index showing the goals and performances of the ministry.
“The index was taken down from the website after the Minister of Justice Waleed Al-Samaani took office. He was criticized heavily for his decision by journalists on social media. He was pressured into reposting the index on the ministry’s website after it was removed for a year and 10 months,” said the source.
The source also said during the time of the former minister of justice Mohammad Al-Essa, the percentage of cases settled in general courts reached 77.9 percent.
“The number of cases settled in 2014 reached 192,403 cases while the number of cases settled in 2016 reached 141,025 which is a decrease of 43.8 percent. There is a difference of more than 50,000 cases between the two years,” said the source.
The source also said the number of cases settled in penal courts reached 91.5 percent in 2014 and it decreased to 69.2 percent in 2016.
“There were 137,908 cases settled in 2014 while there were 124,507 cases settled in 2016. There is a decrease of 24.37 percent and 14,000 cases,” said the source.
The source also said the number of cases settled in personal status courts reached 95.7 percent in 2014 and it decreased to 87.1 percent in 2016, a decrease of 8.9 percent.
