The Ministry of Justice will permit women lawyers to practice the legal profession like their male counterparts from early next month.
The expert’s committee of the Council of Ministers sent to the ministry on Saturday the statutes governing entry of women lawyers to Saudi courts, where only men lawyers were allowed in the past.
According to a source, qualified women lawyers can approach the ministry to obtain the mandatory license to practice their profession.
The new lawyers’ regulations do not differentiate between men and women practitioners of the profession, source at the Saudi Human Rights Commission said.
“The statutes explain the existing system in Saudi courts and other judicial institutions. The statutes never distinguished between men and women in procedural matters,” the source said.
It added that the entry of women lawyers to the Saudi courts was awaiting the drafting of special terms and conditions for them to practice the profession.
The original proposal of the ministry, which was submitted to the experts’ committee earlier, stipulated that a woman should have a special and closed office, should deal with only women clients, and should not present cases directly at courts.
