RIYADH: Following three strings of postponements during the past few years, the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Judicial Council have taken new steps to launch the long-awaited special labor courts in Saudi Arabia.
The steps were initiated by naming 99 assistant judges to undergo training courses on solving labor disputes, and other labor issues and litigation, in addition to assigning 80 judges to assume their judicial tasks after being trained to work in these new labor courts which are expected to begin functioning during this current year, according to Justice Ministry sources.
Walid Al-Samaani, minister of justice and president of the Supreme Judicial Council, approved the initial list of assistant judges to be trained in judicial works through a three-month course pending their appointment.
They will be appointed at five labor courts which will be launched in Jeddah, Riyadh, Damman, Makkah and Madinah, in addition to labor dispute settlement offices affiliated with other courts across the Kingdom.
The Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Judicial Council assigned 80 judges on duty to be transferred later to the labor courts.
Meanwhile, the president of the Supreme Judicial Council canceled a previous decision to mandate the training mission of assistant judges to the labor committees. The Ministry of Justice last week decided to task the training mission to the Higher Judicial Institute under the supervision of the judicial training center.
The number of labor cases received by the initial commission for labor disputes last year stood at 9,956, of which 4,241 involved Saudi citizens, a rate of 42.6 percent, with the remaining 5,715 cases involving non-Saudis, a rate of 57.4 percent.
The number of cases involving Saudis which were considered and settled stood at 3,714 cases. Non-official sources estimated the number of cases to be referred to the labor courts to stand at 20,000.
Special labor courts launched
Special labor courts launched
US embassy in Riyadh attacked with drones: Saudi defense ministry
- The embassy issued a shelter in place notice for Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense said early Tuesday that eight drones were intercepted and destroyed near Riyadh and Al-Kharj.
In an earlier statement, the ministry’s spokesperson said preliminary assessments indicated that two drones had targeted the US Embassy in Riyadh.
The incident caused a limited fire and minor material damage to the building.
A statement from the Saudi foreign ministry condemned Iran’s attack on the US embassy building in Riyadh.
Reports from early Tuesday morning described a loud blast and visible flames at the American embassy, with black smoke rising over Riyadh’s diplomatic quarter, where many foreign missions are located. According to Reuters, two sources said there were no reported injuries, as the building was empty at the time of the incident in the early morning hours.
In a post published on X, the US Embassy to the Kingdom announced a security alert for Tuesday. The embassy stated it would remain closed and that all routine and emergency American Citizen Services appointments had been cancelled.
The shelter-in-place notification for Jeddah, Riyadh and Dhahran remains active, and American citizens in the Kingdom were advised to continue to abide by it.
The embassy also urged people to avoid its premises until further notice due to the attack on the facility. Travelers were encouraged to review the most recent Security Alerts, reconsider travel plans in case of possible disruptions, and make decisions that prioritize their safety and that of their families.
