King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has ordered the formation of a committee comprising senior Islamic scholars and judges to streamline procedures governing Shariah verdicts and corporal penalties. This was stated by Abdul Mohsin Bin Nasser Al-Obeikan, Adviser at the Royal Court, on Friday. He said the committee is aimed at ending the ongoing controversy over the codification of judicial verdicts and to help overcome discrepancies in verdicts issued by different judges in cases of similar nature. He said that the body would also ensure a fixed ceiling for corporal penalties to be observed by courts all across the Kingdom. The Higher Judicial Council, Al-Obeikan said, with its current formation is capable of correcting the grave mistakes made by the council in the past. Al-Obeikan admitted that a number of current problems were mainly due to the grave mistakes made by previous judicial bodies. He, however, expressed confidence that the current Higher Judicial Council and the various steps taken to streamline the judicial system would resolve these issues. Al-Obeikan also praised the King for extending unlimited support to the council to improve its overall functions. He described the current judiciary as a newborn that needs time to develop. Al-Obeikan said the execution of verdicts is still below the bar due to the lack of a system defining the enforcement and execution of verdicts. He appealed to the judges in the Kingdom to stick to the official working hours and to ensure expeditious disposal of cases so as to help change the image of the judiciary.
