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Saudi Arabian News Updates |
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8 April 2009 JEDDAH: Individuals practicing law
without a license will be subject to imprisonment or
fine or both, Abdul Rahman Al-Hutan, director of the
department of lawyers at the Justice Ministry said.
“Such people will be subject to punishment under
Article 27 of the Lawyers’ System, which stipulates
one year imprisonment or a fine of not less than
SR30,000 or both,” he told Arab News. He said the step
was part of efforts to promote the legal profession in
the Kingdom under the new judicial system.
Yousuf Al-Farrah, chairman of the Committee to
Discipline Lawyers in the Ministry of Justice, said 16
lawyers had been brought before the committee on
charges of violating the rules of the profession. He
added that two of them had been stopped from
practicing law. He also said a number of other lawyers
were referred to the Prosecution and Investigation
Board for questioning under the statute to regulate
the profession.
Al-Farrah said punishments against lawyers could be
reviewed within 60 days by the Court of Grievances,
which can uphold, annul or change the punishment.
Awad Al-Hibaili, CEO of the Jeddah Center for Law and
Arbitration, said the new regulations approved by the
ministry concerning litigation were aimed at reducing
the number of unqualified people who practice law.
Al-Hibaili recalled that before the introduction of
the new judicial system, lawyers obtained their
licenses from the Ministry of Commerce. “This allowed
many people, including those working in
debt-collecting offices, to practice law,” he said.
He said the transfer of license for lawyers from the
Ministry of Commerce to the Ministry of Justice had
reduced the number of people in the profession.
According to Al-Hibaili, the conditions for obtaining
law licenses include working two years with an
accredited lawyer or in a legal consultancy. “Anyone
who wants to be a lawyer should have a university
degree in law or Shariah from a Saudi or recognized
foreign university,” he said. |
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