Cassation of judicial rulings

Cassation of judicial rulings

There is no doubt that achieving justice is one of the basic and pivotal values that societies care about, as the courts are the regulatory body entrusted with achieving this justice between people. However, this does not necessarily mean that all rulings issued by the courts are satisfactory to one of the parties to the dispute. It may happen unexpectedly that rulings are issued that are not satisfactory to the plaintiff or defendant, or are not compatible with the systems in force in the Kingdom In such cases, people have the right to object to these rulings and try to reform the situation in a way that satisfies them and achieves justice at the same time. People in the Kingdom enjoy the freedom to object to rulings issued by courts, but this requires them to have good knowledge of the controls for this objection, especially objection by way of overturning these rulings. For example, objecting to rulings issued by courts and searching for controls for overturning judicial rulings is a vital and necessary matter This is to ensure justice between the parties to lawsuits in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in accordance with the provisions of the Sharia Litigation System, its executive regulations, and the executive regulations for methods of objecting to judicial rulings.

General controls for objecting to judicial rulings

First of all, no one may object to the ruling except the convicted person or someone who has not fulfilled all of his requests, including the guardian of the minor, the supervisor of the endowment, and those in similar positions. It is permissible to object to the ruling from someone against whom the ruling was issued, even if he was not present or appointed, such as the heirs’ cases, according to the methods of objection. It is also permissible for someone who accepted his intervention to object to the ruling issued against someone who intervened with him, even if the convicted person did not object If the judgment was issued against several persons, such as partners and heirs, each of them has the right to object.

It is not permissible to object to rulings issued before the case is decided and all or some of the dispute does not end there, such as: refusal to enter, intervene, and incidental requests, except with an objection to the ruling issued on the subject matter, and it is permissible to object to the ruling issued to stop the case, and to temporary and urgent rulings, rulings that are enforceable by force, and rulings issued for lack of jurisdiction before Judgment on the subject matter, and in minor cases it is permissible to object to rulings issued to stop the case and rulings issued for lack of jurisdiction.

It is worth noting that the parties to the case may agree in writing, even before filing the case, that the ruling issued by the court of first instance will be final against them, and this agreement will be adhered to while the case is being considered by the court of first instance.

Likewise, anyone who has the right to object before or after submitting the objection request may waive his right to object by submitting a memorandum to the court that issued the ruling or that is considering the objection, as the case may be. If the objector waives his right to object after submitting the request, the court shall decide in all cases to accept leaving the dispute in the objection It is worth noting that the deadline for objecting to the judgment begins from the date of delivering a copy of the judgment instrument to the convict and obtaining his signature in the seizure, or from the date specified for receiving it if he does not appear. If he does not appear to receive a copy of the judgment instrument, it is deposited in the lawsuit file on the same date with proof of that in the seizure. The deposit that is made accordingly is considered the beginning of the date specified for objecting to the judgment The deadline for objecting to a judgment in absentia or a judgment issued for review before the Supreme Court begins from the date of notification to the convicted person or his representative.

If the convict is a prisoner or detained, the party responsible for him must bring him to the court to receive a copy of the judgment instrument within the period specified for receiving it, as well as bring him to submit his objection within the period specified for submitting the objection.

The objection period shall be suspended upon the death of the objector, or upon the loss of his capacity to litigate, or upon the disappearance of the status of the person who was handling the dispute. The suspension shall continue until the judgment is communicated to the heirs or their representatives or the objector disappears. Communication to the heirs of the objector or their representative shall be made by the objector in accordance with the communication procedures mentioned in the Sharia Litigation System. If communication is not possible, the judgment shall be submitted to the Court of Appeal for review If the objection is removed or the objector’s heirs or the person representing the person who made the objection are informed of the ruling, the objection period shall resume, and what was stated before the suspension shall be calculated from it. If the objection is usually long, the circuit shall have the right to appoint a representative for the objector to submit the objection only, and this shall be recorded in the case record itself.

On the other hand, if there are multiple convicts, they may submit one objection memorandum or an independent memorandum for each objector. The objector must also follow up on the dates of the case immediately after it is registered in court. The court also verifies, when referring the objection to it, the preliminary issues related to jurisdiction and the conditions for accepting the objection request. In cases where a session is set to consider the objection, the session may not be postponed except for a reason that requires it and is recorded in its minutes It shall not be postponed more than once for the same reason, and the postponement period shall not exceed thirty days, and the number of sessions in the case shall not exceed three sessions, unless necessity requires otherwise. It should also be noted that the objector shall not be harmed by his objection.

The annulment of a judgment shall result in the annulment of all decisions and actions subsequent to the annulled judgment, provided that that judgment was the basis for them. If the judgment was annulled only in part, it shall remain effective in its other parts unless division is not possible.

Controls for overturning judicial rulings

The convict may object to the cassation request before the Supreme Court against the rulings and decisions issued or upheld by the Courts of Appeal, whenever the subject of the objection to the ruling is the following:

1. Violating the provisions of Islamic Sharia and the regulations issued by the ruler that do not conflict with them.
2. The judgment shall be issued by a court that is not properly formed in accordance with what is stipulated by law.
3. The judgment was issued by a court or circuit that does not have jurisdiction.
4. Error in adapting the incident, or describing it incorrectly.

If the subject of the objection is the ruling’s violation of a judicial principle issued by the Supreme Court, or taken by one of the Supreme Court chambers in previous cases, it is considered an objection to a violation of the system, and it is not permissible in the cassation request to give reasons that were not previously stated in the appeal, and could have been stated therein.

The objection memorandum must also be accompanied by the following:

1- A copy of the document proving the status of the objector’s representative.

2- A copy of the contested ruling, and a copy of the first instance court ruling.

3- Documents supporting the objection. The court may request the case file or whatever it needs from it, if necessary.

The objection shall be obtained by requesting cassation, by a memorandum submitted to the administration of the Court of Appeal that issued or upheld the ruling. The objection memorandum must include data related to the names of the parties, the address of each of them, a statement of the contested ruling, its number, its date, the reasons on which the objection was based, the objector’s requests, his signature, and the date of filing the objection memorandum. The administration of the Court of Appeal shall also record the objection memorandum on the day it is filed in the relevant register It shall be submitted, along with a copy of the case record and all papers, to the Supreme Court within a period not exceeding three days from the date of expiration of the objection period, where the period for objection by cassation request shall be thirty days, with the exception of rulings issued in urgent matters, which shall be fifteen days. If the objector does not submit his objection within these two periods, his right to request cassation shall lapse.

If the objection is overdue, or is filed for reasons other than those specified in the regulations, or the court finds that the objection is not permissible or acceptable, it shall order its inadmissibility by a decision recorded in the minutes. It should be noted that the objection before the Supreme Court does not result in the suspension of the execution of the judgment, unless the regulations stipulate otherwise The court may order a temporary suspension of the execution of the judgment if the objection memorandum requests this and there is fear that the execution will cause serious harm that will be irreparable. When it orders a suspension of execution, it may require the submission of a guarantee, or a full debtor guarantor, or order what it deems sufficient to preserve the right of the objector.

The Supreme Court also considers the formal conditions of the objection, related to the names of the parties, the address of each of them, a statement of the objectionable judgment, its number, its date, the reasons on which the objection is based, the objector’s requests, his signature, the date of filing the objection memorandum, and whether it was issued by someone who has the right to request a cassation. Then it decides whether to accept the objection or not in form. If the objection is unacceptable in form, it issues an independent decision to that effect.

Also, if the objection memorandum requesting cassation is limited to referring to the reasons stated in the objection memorandum to the Court of Appeal or elsewhere, then the memorandum is considered devoid of reasons, and if the objection does not specify the reasons for objecting to the ruling, their location from it, and a statement of the face of the violation, its effect on it, and what It shows that these reasons were previously stated on appeal or that they could not be stated on it, the court ruled on its own initiative not to accept it.

On the other hand, the objector may submit a memorandum responding to the objection memorandum within ten days from the date of notification of the objection memorandum. As for accepting or rejecting the cassation, if the court decides on the objection by rejecting or overturning the ruling, it shall state the reasons for that in its ruling. Also, if the overturned ruling was issued in any of the following cases:

1. Lack of jurisdiction.
2. The case may not be considered due to the existence of an arbitration clause.
3. Stop the lawsuit.
4. The lawsuit is not accepted because it was not edited.
5. Failure to accept the lawsuit for being filed prematurely.
6. The petition is not accepted in form.
7. Considering the case as if it did not exist.

Or if the ruling invalidates the right to appeal or is inadmissible, it is referred to the circuit that issued it in the Court of Appeal. Likewise, if the Supreme Court overturns the ruling for violating the rules of specific or spatial jurisdiction, the competent court is appointed to decide on its subject.

If the Supreme Court accepts the objection in form, it decides on the subject of the objection based on the papers in the file, without addressing the facts of the case. If it is not convinced by the reasons on which the objection is based, it upholds the ruling. Otherwise, it overturns the ruling in whole or in part, as the case may be, with the mention of the document, and returns the case to the court that issued the ruling to rule on it again without considering it If the appeal is for the second time and the case is in good condition for judgment, it must rule on the case, and its judgment shall be final, in addition to pronouncing the judgment in a public session. Also, if the case is returned after its appeal to the court that issued the judgment, and there is only one person who ruled on it in it, the President of the Supreme Judicial Council shall assign someone to consider it in the same court, and it is not permissible to appeal before the Supreme Court for a reason not mentioned in the objection memorandum Unless the reason is related to public order, the court shall take it on its own initiative.

You can contact the office of lawyer Abdul Majeed Al Rashid for legal consultations