Justice Takes a Holiday
Not that things are much better when the courts are in session
10 August 2008
Judiciary activities at all court levels have ceased following the judges’ annual leave which will continue to the end of October. Some case delays may continue up to December, because some judges go on pilgrimage trips. The long judges’ leave will affect the suspects, detainees at courts and prosecutions as well as the newly litigated cases, because they cannot be referred to courts, charged or acquitted.Lawyer Abdulghani Ali al-Kahzan, said that the leave delays all cases, including those which have only one session to conclude, with the suspects most probably to be released. He added that some judges’ transfers are carried out during the leave, leading to extending the trial’s period, for even the ones need only one session to conclude, because the new judge needs to reconsider the case. The prosecution also experiences similar conditions.
The justice ministry should reconsider the Tho-alqaida month’s annual compulsory leave. He added that the actual annual working period of the judiciary is only half a year.
In a related issue, 264 judges and prosecutors were transferred last week. Appeal judges transfers were carried out by the supreme judiciary court and the ministry of justice last month.
