Justice Minister Mohammed Al-Eissa will launch Tuesday a system of special courts that will deal with family-related legal issues, such as divorce, alimony and custody, said Fahd Al-Bakran, Justice Ministry spokesman.
Civil affairs departments and courts will be established in Riyadh, Makkah, Jeddah, Madinah and Dammam to review such issues, he said.
“This is an extension of earlier efforts aimed at helping Justice Ministry courts bypass general courts and instead, resort to independent courts to get their cases settled,” he said.
Mohammad Mirdad, a member of the Supreme Judicial Council and chairman of a committee formed to implement judicial mechanisms, said these courts would not, however, review litigation procedures, which will remain under the purview of general courts.
Mirdad said commercial courts would follow suit and begin functioning in four months.
Judges and employees working at commercial departments under the Kingdom’s Board of Grievances will be transferred to these courts.
Judges will be trained on how to deal with missions at specialized courts before they assume their responsibilities.
“Labor courts will also eventually follow the same course after commercial courts come into action,” he said.
Labor courts will be established in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor. A specialized committee will train employees and judges and allocate buildings for these labor courts in accordance with Labor Ministry studies and directives.
Big cities to have family courts
