Saudi minister stressed importance of arbitration

Minister of Justice Muhammad Al-Eisa Wednesday visited the European Court of Justice in Luxemburg, the highest legal court in the European Union. The visit was part of the King Abdullah Project to study the best international practice and develop legal facilities in the Kingdom based on Shariah law. The minister was also tasked with dispelling misconceptions of Islamic law. The European Court of Justice has the authority to interpret EU law and ensures the equal application of the law across all EU member states. The court was established in 1952 and has 27 judges, one representing each member state. A senior court official briefed the minister and the accompanying delegation on how the court operated. Al-Eisa had a discussion with the court’s president Vassilios Skouris, other judges and the public prosecutor about European legislation. Skouris also outlined the court’s jurisdiction, constitution and cases it considers, according to a press statement after the visit. “We were briefed on the principles the court uses to interpret legal texts and how its judges successfully sidestep differences in various legal systems in member countries,” Al-Eisa said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency. The minister also met with the speaker of the Luxemburg Parliament and briefed him on Saudi judicial reforms including the setting up of a Supreme Court apart from general, criminal, commercial, social status, labor and appeal courts. He added that the Supreme Court operated independently from the Supreme Judicial Council. “The system of monitoring and inspecting courts does not interfere with the verdicts of judges,” he said. He added that the Kingdom’s courts have been digitized as part of its efforts to speed up the resolution of cases. Al-Eisa also briefed the speaker and other legal experts about the Saudi method of settling issues between contending parties through reconciliation or arbitration and without any court pressure. “Arbitration is an important Islamic option between contending parties and it does not need time-consuming legal procedures,” the minister said. The delegation also visited Luxemburg’s Supreme Court. Source: ArabNews