Ahmad Ajab Al-Zahrani Okaz newspaperRecently, my legal advice was sought by different people who had taken their cases to court, had them reviewed, yet no verdict was announced as the defendant refused to show up. In child custody, unpaid loans, and rent cases, verdicts are often issued but defendants are never arrested. It is alleged that defendants would hide in their homes when they knew a court officer was knocking at their door with a subpoena. People who have come to me seeking legal advice have navigated the time consuming procedures of our legal system to no avail, and I was unable to give them any useful advice. I simply told them not to expect any new development in their cases as long as verdicts were being enforced using outdated measures, and asked them instead to wait for the recently approved regulations to be applied. The new regulations aim to tighten the noose around the neck of defendants who ignore subpoenas and refuse to show up in court. A new department will be created within each court, responsible for enforcing verdicts. The new regulations will also grant judges the power to pronounce verdicts and allow police to enter the house of anyone evading court subpoenas by force. Moreover, the regulations will grant the plaintiff the right to claim compensation from the defendant for the money he spent on litigation. Defendants may also receive a seven-year prison sentence if they fail to comply with court summons. In the past, it was a frustrating, laborious, and unfruitful task for a plaintiff to go through legal procedures. Defendants were even known to boast of their ability to evade legal procedures and court subpoenas. We expect that the new regulations will deal sternly with all defendants and put an end to the phenomenon of dodging court orders.
