SAUDI ARABIA – ‘Saudi Arabia needs real estate courts’

EXPERTS have stressed the need for establishing special courts for the speedy settlement of real estate disputes in order to stabilize the booming real estate market in the Kingdom. The Kingdom’s real estate sector, which is estimated to be worth half a trillion dollars, is billed as the second major contributor to the national economy after oil. 

“Setting up real estate courts would provide a single legal authority with the ability to deal with real estate cases, which, in turn, would help halt foul play in property issues and safeguard the rights of disputing parties,” said Abdullah Al-Maghlouth, member of the Investments and Security Market Committee at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 

He stressed the need to remove property cases from the jurisdiction of general courts and assign them to independent real estate courts, a local newspaper reported last month. 

He suggested that a semi-judicial committee be established to draw up the statutes and guidelines for such courts. He also expressed the opinion that the Ministry of Justice should seek the help of local and foreign experts as well as research centres to formulate simplified methods based on the Islamic legal system to deal with property disputes. 

Al-Maghlouth said the success of real estate courts would depend on the judges appointed to such courts who can understand the significance of speedy settlement of property issues. The judges should also be given special training in handling real estate cases.He added that some government projects have been stalled due to real estate disputes, which can be avoided if a competent authority is authorised to intervene in such situations. 

He said he hoped that the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and mayors’ offices would cooperate when such courts are established and recommended the establishment of a real estate commission to support the activities of the proposed court. 

Head of the Jazan-based Al-Shorouq Center for Economic Studies Abdul Rahman Baashan said setting up a real estate court with a clear vision of how to deal with property disputes would boost the confidence of foreign companies and banks operating in the Kingdom because such courts would ensure the transparency of legal procedures. Al-Maghlouth also believes that the recently introduced mortgage laws could be better enforced by real estate courts manned by trained judges.

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