Doha, April 26 (QNA) - HE President of the Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) and President of the Court of Cassation Dr. Hassan bin Lahdan Al Hassan Al Mohannadi affirmed that the development of courts is considered a national priority that enjoys the full support and continuous follow-up by the wise leadership.
HE said that the process of developing litigation procedures is an urgent and necessary matter but it is very intricate and requires much time.
He added that there is an ambitious initiative that includes all aspects related to the development process that covers the legislation, court buildings, online judiciary systems, litigation procedures, institutional development, government integration, specialised judiciary, legal professions, reconciliation judiciary and others.
In an interview with Al-Raya newspaper published Monday, HE Al Mohannadi said that the second phase of the plan stands in light of the national initiative for the development of justice systems (2021-2022), and includes permanent solutions and development initiatives, noting that the first phase covered the period from 2019 to 2020, which is the stage of diagnosis and urgent solutions according to the premise of the initiative. The first premise is based on a comprehensive and realistic diagnosis of current problems and challenges, and the second premise is based on reliance on non-traditional solutions to overcome real problems, while the third premise is based on developing practical mechanisms to ensure the achievement of the desired results, HE added.HE underlined that the development of legislation includes a collection of up to ten related laws to keep pace with the growth in the country in all fields, and the demands of the future.

Improvement to Judicial Work

HE President of the Supreme Judiciary Council and President of the Court of Cassation hailed the introduction of a set of improvements to the judicial work in its main aspects, as the e-services portal has been launched with around 41 services for individuals and 45 services for lawyers, as the National Authentication System (Tawtheeq) provides a file for each user that includes all the claims submitted by him and the decisions issued in their regard, in addition to the issued judgments.

He referred to that launch of the digital family documentation service, most notably marriage contracts and cards, and the new version of Al Mahakem (courts) mobile app that includes most commonly used services and query services, in addition to follow-up services of cases and the decisions issued regarding them.
HE also said that the SJC is set to launch its new website with newly added services and by simplifying a number of services to achieve the integration with other government entities concerned.
HE Dr. Hassan bin Lahdan Al Hassan Al Mohannadi explained that the family documentation programme will be launched, and the Council is working on preparing a number of external sites within service complexes, in addition to the Council's own sites, adding that their opening will take place during the third and fourth quarters of 2022.
HE noted the support of several government entities for the development of the judicial system, and the importance of the role of judges' assistants, including lawyers, experts and arbitrators, as actors and assistants to the judiciary in achieving prompt justice.
He also talked about the suggested ideas and projects to launch the virtual judiciary, remote online litigation, and facilitating access to litigators to services such as getting copies of the judgments online and through other means benefiting from the capabilities provided by modern technology.
Regarding the role of justice assistants such as the Public Prosecution, the Ministries of Interior and Justice, lawyers, experts and arbitrators in implementing development projects, HE pointed out that development is a continuous and unending process, and the judiciary, by its nature and competence, is based on addressing problems and achieving justice in order to achieve prompt justice, noting that this remains humane efforts being made with the aim of achieving the highest level of it, and therefore, the development efforts of the judiciary and national justice project are a permanent and continuous competence and a duty that they seek to achieve, and not a temporary stage.

HE President of the Supreme Judiciary Council and President of the Court of Cassation Dr. Hassan bin Lahdan Al Hassan Al Mohannadi praised the Council's initiative regarding the immediate distribution of inheritance. He said that inheritance is one of the main initiatives targeted for development and many measures have been taken in the current stage. Work has been done to re-allocate specific judicial departments that handle overdue inheritance cases, in addition to developing procedures for counting and distributing inheritances in a consensual manner and under the supervision of a judge, to speed up and facilitate the procedures for inventorying and distributing the inheritance.

He pointed out that the development extends to a draft law on inheritance, working on electronic linking with all government agencies with jurisdiction to inventory the financial liability of the deceased, and coordinating with the Ministry of Public Health so that procedures for inventory and distribution of the inheritance begin after the issuance of the death statement to facilitate the procedures for inventory and distribution consensually between the heirs. HE pointed to the preparation of a special law on the division of inheritances that was submitted to the honorable Cabinet that guarantees the speedy distribution of the inheritance in a fair and transparent manner in accordance with the provisions of Sharia law.

Creation of New Laws

Regarding the development plan in updating legislation related to the judiciary and justice to keep pace with the rapid developments in terms of technological concepts and means and their suitability to the nature of society, HE explained that the plan includes a main axis dealing with the judicial legislative package and includes amending draft laws, including the creation of new laws, totaling 10 laws. These include updates to harmonize laws in line with the inclusion of modern technology in the judicial system and support for the digital transformation initiative with litigation procedures, as well as activating the virtual judiciary, activating the judiciary remotely, facilitating litigants' access to services by several means, in addition to obtaining judgments by several remote means and other proposed projects to facilitate the litigants to take advantage of the technical capabilities offered by modern technology.

His Excellency also noted the Supreme Judicial Council's supervision of many court auctions, considering that the Council worked on developing mechanisms and procedures for executing judicial auctions, including cars, distinctive numbers, heavy equipment, and real estate, amounting to more than 395 million riyals was registered during the 2021 judicial season. This amount included the sale of 1,769 items offered. It is worth noting that the auction process through the newly developed mechanisms and electronic programs ensured good prices that contributed to covering the judicial costs of those entitled to it, in addition to achieving transparency in the auction process, which is supervised by a Qatari judicial cadre.
With regard to the development of an integrated restorative justice system to contribute to reducing cases referred to the courts, HE explained that the Family Reconciliation Office has been created, and work has been done to prepare certain procedures starting with submitting the application to the Family Court. The office plays a role in the process of trying to conciliate, and work is done to involve families greatly. The office played a major role in 2021, as a group of requests submitted to the Family Court ended in conciliation.
HE also praised the experience of establishing a fund for ruled expenses for the benefit of divorced women, children, and alike. The Council worked on developing the mechanisms of the Family Fund to ensure that the expenditures are covered for the groups benefiting from it promptly and addressing all challenges without affecting those who are entitled to delay. Digital channels have been activated to pay the expenses and facilitate them for the categories, and these pioneering initiatives have achieved the desired results effectively and efficiently, HE said. (QNA)