MOJ DISCUSSES JUDICIAL REFORM, WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 RIYADH 001084

SIPDIS

NEA/ARP JBERNDT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SA
SUBJECT: MOJ DISCUSSES JUDICIAL REFORM, WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND
CHILD MARRIAGES

REF: A. RIYADH 1012

B. RIYADH 361

C. RIYADH 875

D. RIYADH 1026

E. RIYADH 596

RIYADH 00001084 001.2 OF 003


SUMMARY AND COMMENT
--------------


1. (SBU) Charge met Minister of Justice Muhammad al-Issa
August 19 to discuss issues including a Commercial Law
Development Program (CLDP) proposal; judicial reform; women's
rights; and child marriages. Al-Issa stressed the importance
of judicial review and his responsibility to implement
judicial reform as a key part of the king's wider reform
agenda; admitted that there were few Shari'a restrictions on
women but pointed to Saudi customs and radical
interpretations of religious texts as reasons Saudi women
lack legal rights; emphasized the reluctance of Saudi society
to embrace change (Ref A); cautiously agreed with Charge's
challenge that laws often precede social acceptance and that
concepts of equality within the Qur'an could be used to
guarantee women's rights in the future; announced a study on
child marriages would soon be complete; and expressed
enthusiastic support for a proposed CLDP program to train
Saudi judges. Throughout the meeting, al-Issa was cautious
but frank in his discussions with the Charge. END SUMMARY
AND COMMENT.


UPDATE ON JUDICIAL REFORMS
--------------


2. (SBU) Charge noted his understanding that King Abdullah
had replaced the previous minister and appointed him
(al-Issa) to jump-start the judicial reforms that had been
passed in 2007 but never implemented due to internal
resistance from within the ministry and judiciary. This move
had been part of a broader reform push that had also involved
replacing not just the Minister of Justice, but also the
Minister of Education and the head of the Ulema (Ref B).
Al-Issa, while careful not to criticize his predecessor,
concurred this was the context of his appointment, adding
that he had played a role, as a member of the Grievance
Board, in developing the judicial reform proposals he was now
being asked to implement.


3. (SBU) The reforms (a new Supreme Court with powers of
judicial review, an expanded system of lower courts,
redefinition of the role of the Grievance Board, etc.)
focused on the procedural process, al-Issa explained, proudly
showing a 5-volume series of books documenting Grievance
Board decisions from the past year. While judicial review is
a foreign concept in Saudi Shari'a courts, "precedents cannot
be ignored" and the books are intended as reference works.
Documenting all cases and decisions of the Grievance Board is
only the first step. The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is
currently deciding which system of judicial review to use --
a system based on judicial precedent or a system based on new
law. Charge noted that judicial review in the United States
seemed to be a combination of both systems.


4. (SBU) Charge asked what were the biggest obstacles to his
efforts to implementation of the judicial reforms. Not
altogether convincingly, al-Issa replied that he had been
pleasantly surprised at how accepting MOJ officials were of
the various judicial reforms. Thus far, "differing views
have been very few." Saudi judicial procedures and rules were
very clear, and any judge found not to be in compliance or
spouting radical opinions would be dismissed. Asked how many
judges have actually been dismissed, he said that to date
only two officials have been dismissed, and neither was a
judge. He was adamant there were no radical judges in the
Saudi judiciary, maintaining that "no judge discriminates
against any person, nationality or race." (NOTE: There is
ample evidence indicating widespread discrimination against
Shi'a women, and others in the Saudi judicial system. END
NOTE.)


WOMEN'S RIGHTS: CUSTOM V. LAW
--------------


5. (SBU) Charge said whenever he asked Saudis about
restrictions on women's rights, he was always assured these
restrictions stemmed from custom and tradition, not Shari'a
law. The Prophet's first wife, Khatija, had been a
businesswoman and well-to-trader, and he himself had started

RIYADH 00001084 002.2 OF 003


out as her employee. If the Qur'an and Shari'a were really
the basis of the Saudi legal system, how did he (Minister
al-Issa) reconcile current treatment of women with these
sources of law? It seemed incompatible with how the Prophet
treated his own wife. Al-Issa replied that the Qur'an was all
about equality before the eyes of God. There were "few
Shari'a legal restrictions on Saudi women." Social customs,
tradition, and radical interpretations of religious texts
were the root of the problem, he said, citing a sociological
theory that argues that societies by nature are resistant to
change (Ref C and D). For women to be given their legal
rights, there must be social acceptance. With 80% of the
Saudi population being "very conservative," this was very
difficult to achieve.


6. (SBU) Charge responded by asking al-Issa if he was in
effect saying that women's rights -- and human rights in
general -- were in practice influenced more by public opinion
than by Shari'a law. If so, wouldn't that be putting man
before God? (Unfortunately, this last point was omitted from
the translation, though al-Issa, who speaks some English, may
have understood it.) In the United States, we had done a
similar thing when it came to rights for black Americans.
There were perfectly good laws, but we allowed them to be
ignored or overridden by the custom of denying rights and
equality. Eventually, we understood the injustice of such
actions and used law to change custom, not the reverse.
Perhaps the Kingdom should use the concepts of equality
within Shari'a law to change custom and guarantee women's
rights through rule of law, Charge suggested.


CONSERVATIVE NATURE OF SAUDI
SOCIETY CAN'T BE IGNORED
--------------


7. (SBU) Al-Issa acknowledged the argument but repeated it
was hard to ignore the conservative nature of Saudi culture.
In the future, he hoped, "the law will be the law."
Increasing women's rights," he continued, "is something that
must happen step by step." Charge commented that ensuring
rights for women in the Kingdom was not just a matter of law,
it was also a matter of preparing the country against the day
- whether 50 or 100 years from now - when it would no longer
be able to rely on resources under the ground for its wealth,
when the source of its wealth would be its human capital.
Systematically excluding half of the population from
contributing their talents and intellect to the country's
development would put the country at a severe competitive
disadvantage with other countries. Fifty years wasn't much
in the life of a nation, so there was no time to lose in
expanding women's rights and using law to change custom.


THE LEADERSHIP FAVORS REFORM BUT GRADUAL
PACE IS IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF SOCIETY
--------------


8. (SBU) Al-Issa replied that the Saudi government
"believes in the role of women in society," and highlighted
the important role played by the Prophet's wife in preserving
and conveying the Prophet's heritage. Al-Issa stressed that
the leaders of the country are keen on "achieving the best
interests of society," but that reform must take into account
society's willingness to embrace change, especially when it
comes to women's rights.


CHILD MARRIAGES: STILL WAITING ON AN AGE LIMIT
-------------- -


9. (SBU) Talking about the status of efforts to establish a
minimum age for marriage, al-Issa explained that a committee
is currently studying the issue and noted that he publicly
stated (without giving a date for his statement) that the
committee would release its findings and recommendations in 3
months. Charge asked why it should take so long to reach a
conclusion that marriage of an 8 or 9-year old was wrong?
Al-Issa responded that the Saudi government does not want a
"quick fix," but instead seeks to insure a viable solution
that takes into account all social customs and traditions.
The committee's recommendations, which will include setting a
"reasonable" minimum age for marriage, will either be sent to
the Shura Council and Council of Ministers to be passed in
the form of new legislation or be delivered as a directive
from the king. Al-Issa said that in his personal view the
legal age for marriage should be set at 18 years. (NOTE:
Other Embassy contacts have said they expect the minimum age

RIYADH 00001084 003.2 OF 003


to be set at 15 years (Ref E). END NOTE.)


MOJ WELCOMES TRAINING IN COMMERCIAL LAW
--------------


10. (SBU) Handing over a list of commercial law training
programs both in Arabic and English, Charge recommended a
recent proposal by the U.S. Department of Commerce's
Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) to provide training
and legal assistance aimed at strengthening the commercial
adjudication capacity of judges in Saudi Arabia's courts.
Charge said that strengthening judicial capacity in the
commercial area, and particularly in the intellectual
property rights (IPR) area, would compliment the Kingdom's
efforts to attract new technologies and foreign investment in
the IT sector. Al-Issa, who was already aware of the
program, welcomed it, adding that had the USG not approached
the MOJ on this issue, the MOJ would have requested a similar
training program. Al-Issa emphasized the importance of and
need for training of Saudi judges citing that the biggest
obstacle in increasing the number of judges in Saudi Arabia
was the lack of qualified candidates. Charge invited the
Minister and his staff to work directly with our commercial
attach, once they had a chance to review the training
programs being offered that would best suit Saudi needs.















ERDMAN