Fourth Conference for the Arab Judicial Inspection Chiefs Councluded [Archives:2000/10/Law & Diplomacy]

Yasser M. Ahmed
Yemen Times

The fourth conference for Arab Judicial Inspection Chiefs was held in Sana’a recently. The Yemen Times had in its last week’s issue published a brief account on the conference and its final statement. Following is a report on the interviews the paper has conducted with participant delegations. The interviews are meant to shed light on meetings of the conference and the working papers presented there and also present the readers with an account on the progress of the judicial process in the respective countries.
Ibrahim bin Yahya Bin Hamdan Al-Arabi, Assistant Director General of Courts at the Omani Ministry of Justice and head of his county’s to the conference.
“First of all I am pleased to visit my country Yemen. I have not submitted a working paper on behalf of the Omani delegation for I consider the working paper of the Arab Center for Legal and Judicial Research in the Arab League, ratified in Beirut as sufficient. We have discussed this working paper titled “Judiciary Independence” as well as others presented by participating delegations. The discussions were good and focused on the role of the Judicial Inspection process. Undoubtedly, Arab countries need such meetings in the judicial field and also between judges and Judicial Inspection members as judicial inspection is considered a cornerstone for the function of judicial work and its development for overcoming negativities and keeping pace with developments of contemporary age. Discussions with other participant delegations has given me a good impression and I am happy for taking part in this conference. Finally, I would like to thank the Yemeni government for its good hospitality.
Consultant Mohammed Al-Mala, director general of Judicial Inspection in the United Arab Emirates:
“I would like to thank the Republic of Yemen represented by the Ministry of Justice for hosting this conference. We, in the UAE, place lots of hopes on this conference especially that it gathers large numbers of heads of judiciary inspection well experiences in this field.
have submitted a working paper centred on the importance of judicial inspection activities and its role in activating the recommendation of the previous conference held in Khartoum. I have also mentioned certain premises among them the role of judicial inspection in the UAE’s experience regarding technical inspection of courts, general prosecutions and judicial inspection since 1983. As for the judiciary system in the Emirates, it is divided into three categories:
First, primary courts followed by appeal courts and finally the High Court. These categories are warranted by the constitution and the laws. The law of the Judicial Authority was passed in 1983 and has only been amended slightly since then. This law includes a whole chapter on ” judicial inspection and measures related to it” and members of prosecution. We in Emirate have an honest judiciary which we all respect even in the high leaderships.
Dr. Akram Mosa’aedah, Courts Inspector in Jordan:
“I attended this meeting with a recommendation from the government to support each recommendation that shall strengthen the Arab agreement especially in the judicial field that is more technical than it is political.
We had many suggestions concerning the recommendations that were ratified in the third conference in Khartoum. We have also commented on each working paper presented there. In addition, one of our proposals was on the control on the judicial inspection.
As for the progress of the judicial process in Jordan, there two types of judiciary: Just Systematic Judiciary and Administrative Judiciary. The Systematic Judiciary includes different courts like Conciliation Court, court of appeals and court cassation, each of which has specific specialization. There are also the Military Courts, and Criminal Courts.
Finally, I would like to greatly thank the Yemeni leadership
Mohammed Idrees Ahmed, Secretary General of Supreme Judiciary Council, Supreme Court Judge and a member of the Supreme Judiciary Institute in the Sudan.
“The large number of participants in this conference is a good signal that all Arab Countries are interested in this matter. The Judiciary matter is very critical for it’s the third power of the state. Therefore, whenever the judiciary is strong and stable, the government also becomes strong for the strength of the state lies in the power of judiciary, it safeguards the state as well as the citizen. That is why judiciary is very important.
During the meeting we discussed one of the most important working papers which was presented from the Legal Center. This paper was discussing the independence of judiciary in the Arab World from the intrusion of Executive Authority.
As for judiciary in Sudan, it is completely different from that in other Arab countries because it is completely independent. Most of the Arab Countries have the system of the Minister of Justice which is a political position whereas in Sudan the Supreme Judiciary Council is headed by a judge to which all specializations belong. However, the independence of judiciary does not give the right to the judge to wrongly use his power.
Hussain Mokhtar Al-Bawashi: Supreme Court Consultant & Chief of the Judicial Inspection in Libya
“I participated with a working paper on the identification of judicial authorities and the role of Inspection Administration and its main task of clarifying and guiding all judicial authorities as well as performing technical inspection for all administrative bodies. The most important subject that was discussed in the meeting was the independence of judiciary and the final recommendation would be sent to Arab Ministers of Justice to be ratified and modified if necessary.
Concerning the judicial system in Libya, it consists of 3 courts: supreme courts, courts of appeal and court of first instance. This latter has general prosecutions and also courts of summary jurisdiction.
Mohammed Mosleh, General Inspector in the Ministry of justice in Morocco & head of the Moroccan delegation:
“The goal of this conference is to study the judicial inspection program in the Arab countries and to reach a common program and specify its goal, disciplines and means through which it can be achieved. We have participated with a working paper about Morocco’s experience in the field of judicial inspection. I shall not also forget to mention that we benefited from other working papers that were presented in the meeting. As for the recommendations they can be directly applied if they do not contradict local legislations.
Now, regarding judiciary in Morocco, there are two types: legal and modern judiciaries as well as other types like the regular, specialized (Administrative) and criminal judiciary. Judiciary in Morocco separates between each type such as legal, personal, real estate or social (work disputes). We have 67 courts of first instance, 21 courts of appeal and 1 repeal court in addition to several administrative and commercial courts.
The judicial inspection in Morocco does not aim to audit and control judiciary members. Its role is to guide and unify all work approaches and know the task of the court and the number of cases registered in it. The inspection includes all courts’ activities, how far the law is applied and the production of courts and judges. In addition, the judicial inspection provides courts with all its requirements of substances and cadres.

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