RIYADH — Minister of Justice and President of the Supreme Judicial Council Sheikh Walid Al-Samaani emphasized the unique features of the Saudi judiciary, saying that the judiciary has proved its efficiency, speed and effectiveness. "The Saudi judiciary derives its authority from the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah, which are the two foundations of the Basic Law of Governance and all state regulations," he said while pointing out that the judiciary is a means to achieve justice. Al-Samaani made the remarks while delivering a lecture titled "Judiciary in Saudi Arabia" at the High Judicial Institute (HJI) in Riyadh. President of Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University Dr. Ahmed Al-Amri, and several professors and students of the university were among the attendees. Al-Samaani appreciated the support received by the judiciary from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman. "This keenness places great responsibility on those in charge of the judicial institutions and judges in particular, as well as on the supporting academic institutions, mainly the university and HJI," he said. According to Al-Samaani, the structural development of the Kingdom's judiciary began ever since the era of King Abdul Aziz, to the 1428 AH when the current judicial system came into being, and that turned the judiciary into an institutional body rather than linking it with individual judges. "This is an important issue, which was intended to achieve justice by way of various means of Shariah, represented by legal procedures to guarantee independence of judiciary in accordance with the legitimate consideration and within the specified framework of the judiciary." The minister stressed that training is obligatory for the judges and it is also the right of litigants. He underlined the need for high level contacts and integration between universities and the judiciary in the field of research and training. Al-Samaani stressed that the principle of independence enshrined in the Basic Law of Governance is so important that it describes a judicial work as judicial only if it has three elements: the existence of a dispute, specific procedures and guarantees, and the existence of an independent body adjudicating the dispute. Independence is not the right of the judge, but his duty, Al-Samaani said while emphasizing that this is the focal point alerted by Islamic jurists, who stressed that one of the most important forms of independence is the academic efficiency of the judge, and to protect the case of dispute from being influenced by judge's whims and fancies, and does not accept interference in his verdict from anyone else. He pointed out that many of the royal orders stressed the significance of judicial independence, and that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman often confirms that no one interferes in the judiciary. The minister stressed the fundamental role of the judiciary in ensuring justice and transparency of judiciary. "This is recognized by all stakeholders of the judiciary in the Kingdom, including what the judiciary has achieved even in the implementation of judicial verdicts pronounced outside the Kingdom," he added.
