DOHA: The fourth conference of the presidents of Arab Supreme Courts concluded here yesterday with a call to set up special courts to deal with family disputes in Arab countries.
The meeting stressed the need for using services of sociologists, psychologists and specialists in family medicine while dealing with family disputes. They can play a supportive role in the functioning of family courts, said a statement issued at the end of the conference.
The forum also urged Arab countries to seek alternative solutions to family disputes through mediation committees before the disputes land in the courts.
It also called for observing caution while imposing punishments in family-related cases and avoiding punishments that could hamper the freedoms of the dependants and threaten social security.
The three-day conference discussed three major topics. The first was the judiciary’s contribution to enhancing social security in family affairs, focusing on the principles of the Shariah and the role of social workers and psychologists in family courts. Use of penalties and social recruitment procedures as an alternative to traditional measures was also discussed.
The second topic focused on the role of the judiciary in implementing international conventions in investment disputes and supervising the national judiciary on rules of international arbitration in such disputes.
The third topic dealt with specialised courts as a means to promote justice.
On the sidelines, the heads of the courts also discussed a draft system of the federation of the Arab supreme courts (for judiciary and scientific cooperation) recommended by the third conference and referred it to the Arab Centre for Judicial and Legal Research for study.
The conference underlined the need for providing technical courts with qualified and specialised people and reviewing legal procedures for investment and business-related disputes to make them simpler.
The delegates also recommended specialised courts to deal with investment-related disputes to create a good investment environment for Arab investors.
The conference proposed a joint body for Arab courts and formed a special committee for the purpose with representatives from Algeria, Sudan. Oman, Palestine and Egypt.
Representatives from 18 Arab countries participated in the conference, which discussed 34 research papers on the three topics on the agenda.
The President of the Supreme Judicial Council, Masood bin Mohamed Al Ameri, chaired the conference.
The Peninsula
