1- The Supreme Judicial Council appoints a President and one or more Assistants for each Court of Appeal from among the judges of the Courts of Appeal.
2- The Supreme Judicial Council appoints two or more judges as a President and one or more Assistants for each Court of First Instance from among the judges of the Courts of Appeal or the Courts of First Instance.
3- The individual judge shall be the President of the court in which he works.

• 1- The President of the Supreme Court shall have the following powers and authorities:

  • أ - Presiding over the Supreme Judicial Council when it convenes in the absence of the President of the Council.

  • ب - Presiding over the General Panel in the Supreme Court, and referring matters that fall within its jurisdiction by law.

  • ج - Proposing the appointment of the President of each chamber of the Supreme Court and its members, and submitting that to the Supreme Judicial Council for approval.

  • D- Assigning one of the members of the Supreme Court to complete the quorum of the chamber in the absence of the President of the chamber, or one of its members, or in the event of an impediment, and the assignment shall be by a decision issued by him, and a copy shall be provided to the Council.

• 2- In the absence of the President of the Supreme Court, the most senior of the heads of its chambers shall act on his behalf; if they are equal in rank, then the most senior in the judicial service; if they are still equal, then the oldest in age. The deputy shall have the powers and authorities of the President of the Supreme Court, except for representing him in attending sessions of the Supreme Judicial Council.

• 1- The Presidents of the Courts of Appeal and the Presidents of the First Instance Courts shall have the following competencies and authorities:

  • A- Appointing the head of each chamber and its members.

  • B- Performing the duties of the chamber or presiding over it in the absence of its head, or in the event of an impediment, and he may assign one of the court members to do so.

  • C- Completing the quorum of the court chambers when necessary, and he may assign one of its members to do so; if this is not possible, it shall be raised to the Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council to appoint someone to complete the quorum.

  • D- Performing the duties of a vacant chamber, or assigning one of the court members to do so.

• 2- The appointments and assignments referred to in this rule shall be by a decision from the President of the Court, and a copy shall be provided to the Council.

• 1- Without prejudice to the judiciary's neutrality and independence, and to the Supreme Judicial Council's right to supervise the courts, judges, and their work, the President of each Court shall have, in addition to the competencies and powers stipulated in these rules, regulations, decisions, and relevant bylaws, the following competencies and powers:

  • A - Supervising the members of the judicial body in the court, and warning them of any violations of their duties or the requirements of their positions after hearing their statements. The warning may be verbal or written, and in the latter case, a copy shall be sent to the Supreme Judicial Council.

  • B - Proposing the initiation of disciplinary action before the Disciplinary Panel in the Council, which shall be done in writing to the President of the Council, accompanied by the violation and supporting evidence.

  • C - Monitoring the administrative departments in the court and all its employees, including their administrative head.

  • D - Supervising all correspondence and transactions received by the court and issued from it, and delivering them with his signature to the relevant authorities, unless there is a statutory provision to the contrary.

  • E - Supervising the organization and distribution of cases received for consideration among the court's panels equally according to their subjects, and referring them to the panels. The President may reduce the referral from himself by (10%) ten percent for each member of the court if the number of its members exceeds four judges, and if the number of court members exceeds ten judges, he may suspend the referral from himself.

  • F - Suspending the referral to the panel, or reducing it, for reasons he deems appropriate, for a period not exceeding one month during the year, by a decision he issues, and providing the Council with a copy of it. If there is a need to extend the period, he shall raise it to the Council to decide what it sees fit.

  • G - Coordinating the vacations of the court judges.

  • H - Providing opinions regarding requests for secondment and assignment submitted by the court members.

  • I - Directly monitoring the judges' attendance and departure from their work.

  • J - Reporting to the Council about any judge who has been absent or who has not resumed work within a period not exceeding five days from the date of absence, or upon the court being notified of the decision to assign the judge to work therein.

  • K - Monitoring the work of judicial assistants and submitting the necessary reports about them.

  • L - Reporting to the Council or the Ministry of Justice - as appropriate - any proposals he sees fit related to the competencies assigned to him, and anything related to improving the performance level in the court.

  • M - Deciding on recusal and request for disqualification according to the law.

  • N - Reporting to the Council about any delayed or stalled cases in the court - if any - for addressing them and providing opinions regarding them.

The Assistant to the President of the Appeal Court and the Instance First of Court has the same powers and authorities as the President of the Court in his absence.

The president of any court with more than ten judges may delegate some of his competencies and powers to his assistant, except for what is stated in paragraphs (A, B, K, L, M/1) of Rule (4), after obtaining the approval of the president of the Council, and the delegation shall not exceed (50%) fifty percent.

Without prejudice to the provisions of these rules regarding competencies and authorities, the President of the Appeals Court in each region shall directly oversee the work of the heads of the first-instance courts.

1 - The President of each Court shall raise to the Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council upon commencing work, and shall propose someone to perform his duties in his absence for any reason, and the President of the instance first of Court shall provide the President of the Appeals Court in the region with what is issued in this regard.
2 - In the event of an emergency that necessitates the absence of the President of the Appeals Court and the President of the instance first of Court, and if there is no assistant in the court, they must assign one of the court members to perform their duties by a decision issued by them, and they shall immediately provide the Chairman of the Council with a copy of it.
3 - If both the President and the assistant in the Appeals Court or the instance first of Court are absent for more than one day, and there is no one assigned to preside over the court, the most senior judge in rank shall perform the duties of the President, and in case of equality, the one with the longest service in the judicial system shall perform the duties and shall inform the Council of this immediately.

These rules replace the rules issued by the decision of the Supreme Judicial Council numbered (31/6/439) dated 4/1/1431 AH, and they shall be effective from the date of their issuance, nullifying any provisions that conflict with them.