Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — The Ministry of Justice has penalized 16 marriage officiators over the past three months for various violations, press reports said on Wednesday. The ministry revoked the license one officiator, suspended 14 others and issued a stern warning to another. A source in the Ministry of Justice said the violations included approving a marriage contract of a Saudi woman to a non-Saudi man without the Ministry of Interior's permission, approving of a marriage without an official contract, approving of a marriage in the absence of the guardian and amending a marriage contract after it was signed. “The ministry has a charter for marriage officiators. Any violations to the charter will result in penalties,” said the source. The source also said there are a total of 6,130 marriage officitors in all regions of the Kingdom. “Between April and June, the ministry has issued licenses to 69 new marriage officiators. A total of 245 marriage officiators renewed their license. A total of 152 licenses were issued and renewed in April, 100 in May and 62 in June,” said the source. “The ministry has a strict procedure in licensing marriage officiators. All applications for the license are received by the General Directorate for Marriage Officiators. The directorate has a committee dedicated to scrutinize applications and nominate applicants who meet all the criteria to be reviewed by another committee before issuing them license,” said the source. The source also said the criteria for becoming a marriage officiator include having a degree in Islamic jurisprudence with a focus on marital affairs. “The applicant must be above 24 years and has no criminal record or accounts of misconduct. The applicant must also produce two recommendations by members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice or other marriage officiators,” said the source. The source said the ministry was working on finding more marriage officiators to facilitate marriage proceedings for the citizens. “Those wishing to find a marriage officiator can simply visit the ministry's website and search by province, city and district. The user can contact the marriage officiator directly through the contact information provided on the website,” said the source. The source urged all citizens to report any violations they come across and said marriage officiators go through frequent review before their licenses are renewed.
