His Majesty King Abdullah reiterated his commitment to promoting separation between the three branches of government, supporting judicial reform and developing the judiciary.

In a letter to the newly appointed President of the Cassation Court and President of the Judicial Council Mohammad Al Mahameed, His Majesty said: “We stress our commitment to maintaining separation between the three branches of government, in accordance with the Constitution and the Law on the Independence of the Judiciary.”

The King urged a speedy endorsement of the amended version of the Law, noting that it entails provisions that further support the judiciary, such as an article that vests the appointment of judges in the Judicial Council.

King Abdullah underlined efforts to develop the infrastructure and capacity of the judiciary. In the context of training and professional development,  he stressed the need to continue training new judges, while at the same time developing the capacity of sitting judges. He highlighted the need to harness technology to promote efficiency, including a system adopted to connect and computerize the  courts and computerise their work.

One of the goals behind reforming the judiciary, the King said, is to accelerate the process of litigation so that rulings are issued as soon as possible, which means that related laws and regulations should be revisited to ensure swift process and implementation of rulings.

His Majesty urged activation of judicial inspection procedures and called for adopting a system under which judges become specialised in certain fields, especially issues that have surfaced with the accelerating developments in modern times such as intellectual property, international trade, domestic violence and anti-corruption.
A sound judicial system, His Majesty said, can help translate reform plans into facts on the ground.