By Adnan Shabrawi

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — The Justice Ministry, in a circular to all courts, has prevented serving tea, coffee and other refreshments at the offices of its employees. The ban also covers the offices of the notary publics.

The ministry said refreshments should be served at the cafeterias and restaurants but not in the offices or the corridors of the courts.

It also instructed to remove all coaches and the seats from the passages inside the court buildings and said there should not be any steel or wood cupboards or refrigerators.

"No floor sittings in the offices should be allowed," the ministry said.

It asked for establishing special waiting areas for men and women to use while waiting to enter the court and said there should be separate seats for the litigants.

The ministry said the judges should sit on desks which are 80-85 cm high with no glass barriers.

Hassan Mohammed Safar, a professor of judicial studies, praised the circular and said it represented a step in the right direction so that the employees of the courts and notary publics should dedicate all their time to their work.

"Anything that may disturb the judges should be removed from the courts and the corridors," he said.

Safar called for limiting the court sessions to nine only and said consideration of the cases should not extend beyond a maximum of three weeks.