RIYADH – The Law of Evidence, approved recently by the Council of Ministers, consists of several provisions that bring about qualitative leap in the procedures with regard to various aspects of presenting, examining and taking decisions on the evidence at the courts and other judicial institutions in the Kingdom. Okaz/Saudi Gazette has learnt from sources that the law consists of 11 chapters and several sections aimed at handling and reviewing the existing regulations regarding evidence and applying them to commercial and civil transactions. The law stipulates clear-cut mechanism for interrogation and presenting testimony of deaf and dumb people. The law ensures that all the facts have to be vindicated with substantial evidence so as to enable the judge to issue a sound and foolproof verdict in the case. The law allows courts to use various scientific methods, including digital means, to elicit evidence. The Minister of Justice, in coordination with the Supreme Judiciary Council, will issue regulations for electronic procedures related to presenting and examining evidence and issuing rulings based on this. The law permits presenting evidence in line with the tradition or custom prevailing among the litigants in their society unless it violates any provisions of the law. Evidence can also be presented through the methods of taking various forms of oath. There is a chapter, which dedicates to relying on expertise and the selection of a technical expert, to resolve the dispute in question. Under the law, it is not permissible for the judge to issue a verdict on the basis of his personal knowledge, and that the evidence is to be presented by the plaintiff while the oath is to be taken by the defendant who denies the charges. The agreement between the litigants shall not be taken into account unless it is a written one. The Law of Evidence dealt with the mechanisms of testimony, including the testimony of the dumb, and interrogation. Courts must take the procedures of evidence that took place in a foreign country, unless it violates the public order. According to the law, the confession is judicial if the litigant confesses before the court the reality of the charges framed, and the confession will be non-judicial if it does not occur before the court or happened during the course of another lawsuit. The confession shall be explicitly or implicitly verbal or in writing, and the confession will not be accepted if it is found apparently false. The law stressed that if the value of the dispute exceeds SR100000 or its equivalent, or if the value is not specified, the testimony of witnesses in favor or against must be proven in writing unless there is an agreement or text to the contrary. The witness should have neither any relationship with the parties involved in the case nor any interest in it. Similarly, the testimony of someone who performs it to prevent any harm against him or get any benefit for him and the testimony of one spouse to the other are not accepted even after the dissolution of the marriage. There won't be any situation where the witness harmed because of his testimony. The law also stipulates that the court must prevent every attempt to intimidate or influence the witness in the name of his testimony.
