Mechanism for the Use of a Lawyer at the Expense of the State for the Accused in Major Crimes

The General Directorate of Law Practice shall prepare suggested lists of attorneys who are nominated to defend accused persons in major crimes in each region. Such lists shall be updated on an annual basis and shall be approved by the Vice-Minister.

A committee shall be formed at the Ministry to nominate attorneys to plead in such cases; it shall comprise the following members:
1. The Director of the General Directorate of Law Practice, as chairman;
2. A Shariah consultant from the Deputy Ministry for Judicial Affairs, as member;
3. A legal consultant from the Deputy Ministry for Laws and International Cooperation, as member;
4. A representative from the Financial Department, as member.
The General Directorate of Law Practice shall nominate one of its employees as the rapporteur of the committee.

The committee shall receive the request sent by the court in accordance with Paragraph (5) of Article 96 of the Implementing Regulations of the Law of Criminal Procedure, requesting the nomination of an attorney to defend the accused. The court shall submit said request in a timely manner before the date of the hearing, and the committee shall decide thereon within a period not exceeding 5 days.

The committee shall name and notify an attorney from the lists prepared by the General Directorate of Law Practice and shall send its nomination to the court within a period of not less than 5 days prior to the scheduled date of the hearing.

The assigned attorney shall meet the following requirements:
a. Be registered in the List of Practicing Lawyers;
b. Has not been subject to a disciplinary penalty; and
c. Shall not be objected to by the competent court.

The committee shall issue a decision to assign the nominated attorney who shall proceed with the case. In the event that the attorney does not wish to proceed with the case, he shall submit a request to this effect to the committee within a period of not less than 10 days from the date of the hearing, explaining the reason for such request. He shall attend the hearings until the committee decides on his request. The
Ministry may terminate the contract either upon the request of the judge considering the case or by a letter from the accused indicating justifications therefor. The fees of the attorney shall be calculated pursuant to the part of the proceedings he has completed in accordance with the provisions of the mechanism.

The fees shall be determined as per an upper limit that may be decreased based on the nature of the case in accordance with the following:
1. If the case is filed against one defendant, the attorney shall charge a maximum of five thousand riyals and a minimum of three thousand riyals per hearing, provided that the total fees for all hearings does not exceed one hundred thousand riyals based on the nature and type of the case.
2. In the event of multiple defendants in the same case, the assigned attorney shall charge a maximum amount of five thousand riyals and a minimum of three thousand riyals per hearing for the first defendant. He shall also charge a maximum of two thousand riyals and a minimum of one thousand riyals per hearing for each additional defendant, provided that the total amount per hearing for all defendants does not exceed fifteen thousand riyals and the total fees for all defendants per the case hearings does not exceed one hundred fifty thousand riyals as a maximum.
3. If the hearing is not opened for any reason attributable to other than the attorney, he shall charge half the amount of the fees specified for the hearing.
4. If the hearing is conducted outside the city where the attorney’s office is located, he shall receive an amount of one thousand riyals per hearing.

The attorney shall submit to the Ministry the certificate delivered to him by the court in accordance with Paragraph (1) of Article 97 of the Implementing Regulations of the Law of Criminal Procedure for each hearing to pay his fees. The aforementioned committee shall issue a decision regarding the fees due to the attorney and shall refer such decision to the competent department to finalize the payment documents.

Payment of the due fees shall not entail forfeiting the right of the accused to have the assigned attorney file a petition for reconsideration in the cases prescribed by the Law.

A contract shall be drawn up between the General Directorate of Law Practice and the attorney assigned to defend the case, pursuant to a form prepared in accordance with this mechanism.

If the second party fails to perform his duties, he shall be treated in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Law Practice and its implementing regulations.