100 new women notaries to join duty on November 1: Saudi minister

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia's Minister of Justice Sheikh Walid Al-Samaani has issued directives to appoint 100 legally qualified women in the position of notary public. These notaries will formally start their work from next Sunday, Nov. 1, with joining a three-month specialized training program, the ministry said.

The program will be organized in cooperation with the Justice Training Center. They will also be provided with practical training at the ministry’s Agency for Documentation and Notaries.

The ministry said that the training program for female notary public includes many theoretical and practical sessions, including acquisition of skills in the tasks, specializations and procedures of documentation in accordance with the judicial system.

The training would also cover modern technologies related to documentation work.

The ministry’s initiatives comes as part of further expanding empowerment of women in the justice sector by facilitating judicial services for women with an enhanced role in the documentation area.

The ministry recently appointed many qualified women in the fields of law, Shariah, sociology, administration and technology in the ministry for the first time.

Justice Ministry has been focusing on female employment within the legal sector as part of its plans to support and empower women, widen their career options and help them play a bigger role in this sector.

Previously, eligible female employees worked in private notarial offices; helping those offices provide wider notarial services options to clients and creating more efficiency.

According to the Ministry of Justice, private notaries can issue and cancel powers of attorney, and notarize corporate charters and property conveyances. Their private offices work in the mornings and evenings, seven days a week, using an integrated digital system.