Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — Minister of Justice Walid Al-Samaani has said the Personal Status Law is a positive reflection on judicial indices, and that it led to a decrease in the average period required for settling a case from 45 days to 24 days.

This contributed to delivering prompt justice, and subsequently, the percentage of reconciliation in personal status cases increased to 36 percent, the minister said while attending a meeting of the heads of the personal status courts in Jeddah on Wednesday.

Al-Samaani emphasized that the Personal Status Law has positive effects on society and on the level of judicial work, and it has achieved stability and predictability of court rulings.

He pointed out that factual and legal reasoning is an obligation that cannot be relinquished, and that ijtihad (a ruling based on independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law) cannot be accepted in contrast to the legal text.

Al-Samaani pointed to taking into account the latest legal trends and modern international judicial practices in preparing the Personal Status Law in a manner that does not contradict the provisions of the Islamic Shariah.

During his visit, the minister inaugurated the Personal Status Court in Jeddah as a model court. The inauguration comes as part of a project aimed at establishing model courts in all regions of the Kingdom, with the aim of developing the work environment in the courts and improving the experience of clients visiting these courts.