SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi courts issue 2,050 alimony and custody rulings past month

Reuters Images/Fahad Shadeed
Reuters Images/Fahad Shadeed
Reuters Images/Fahad Shadeed
The Makkah Region courts top the list with 842 judgments
PHOTO
Saudi courts have determined 2,050 maintenance and custody cases during last Jumada al-Ula, an average of 93 cases per day. They include claims for increasing alimony, enforcement of alimony judgment, and applications for custody, among others.

During the past month, the judgments on claims for increasing alimony totaled 59, while those on housing claims for wife and children totaled 153. In addition, the courts issued 1,786 judgments on alimony applications, as well as 52 on other cases related to alimony and custody.

The Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Judicial Council have recently adopted several decisions, amendments, and procedures that support custodial mothers. They strive to protect family members from dissolution after separation, and to expedite procedures that would disrupt the interests of children and custodial mothers.

The Makkah Region courts top the list with 842 judgments, followed by the Riyadh Region, with 407; then the Eastern Region, with 271; then the Madinah Region, with 134 judgments.

The statistics for other regions are as follows: Qasim, 113 judgments; Jazan, 71; Asir, 68; Tabuk, 37; Al-Jawf, 32; Northern Borders, 24; Baha, 21; Ha’il, 20; Najran, 10, the least judgments of all other regions for the same period.

The Supreme Judicial Council has determined the mother's right -- in undisputed cases -- to certify custody of her children without the need to file a lawsuit at a personal status court. This decision has been approved by Dr. Waleed Al-Sama’ani, the justice minister and chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council.

The recent decisions supporting custodial mothers also include that rulings on alimony, seeing and handover of children must be immediately implemented regardless of Article 34 of the Enforcement Law. Similarly, custody and visitation cases must be adjudicated in the country of custody or visitation stated in the execution writ.

 

© Copyright 2018 The Saudi Gazette. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

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