Otros conceptos básicos en psicofisiología

3.6.1 The Human Rights Commission

The Human Rights Commission was established in September 2005.99 _{In addition to the}

Commission’s powers—set out in article 5—the Commission’s key objective is outlined as being to ensure the application of existing regulations and laws within Saudi Arabia in the field of human rights, and to take the measures necessary with consideration to article 5(1). This article sets a group of the Commission’s duties, for instance, the duty to deliver views and perspectives on the laws drafted in relation to human rights article 5(2). The Commission is also required to supervise and oversee the government agencies in regard to their enactment of human rights tools, as sanctioned by Saudi Arabia (article 5(3)). This is an essential aspect of the Commission due to the fact that application monitoring may be involved in more than one institution, ie the Ministry of Interior and the judiciary. Another important task of the Commission is the receipt of complaints from individuals and the taking of legal action as and when necessary (article 5(7)). This may be the most important aspect due to the authority of the Commission within a number of the Saudi ministries.

In particular regard to arrest and detainment, within its regulations, the Commission is afforded the rights, through article 1(6), to ‘visit prisons and detention centres at any time without permission from the competent authority, and bring reports on them before the president of the Council of Ministers’. It is considered that this may well be viewed as another fundamental task carried out by the Commission due to its

98

See the Commission responsibilities on the Consultative Council <http://www.Shura.gov.sa/wps/wcm/connect/ShuraArabic/internet/Committees/Committees+Jurisdiction +and+Duties/#14> accessed 8September 2012.

99 _{Council of Ministers Resolution Number 207, 2005. See the full text of the English version in the}

Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers <http://boe.gov.sa/Default.aspx> accessed 14 September 2012.

34 compatibility with the authority of the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution (BIPP),100 _{which is within the authority of the Ministry of Interior (while the}

Commission is facilitated through direct communication with the Council of Minister’s President, ie the King).

3.6.2 The National Society for Human Rights

The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR)—which was founded a year prior to the Human Rights Commission101—is known to encompass tasks similar to those of the

Commission, although it is affected by the authority of the government.102

In regard to the NSHR basic law, authority is assigned to the NSHR to carry out the following:

 Maintain the implementation of human rights protection which has been stipulated in the BLG.

 Ensure that Saudi Arabia has regard to what is set out in the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, as well as in the international conventions.

 Receive complaints from individuals and take any required action on their behalf.

 Advise the governmental institutions and make any appropriate recommendations in the field of human rights.

 Study the human rights issues in the international community and communicate with any international non-governmental organization (INGO).

 Examine the international conventions and covenants and evaluate any implications for Saudi Arabia.

 Hold conferences inside and outside Saudi Arabia in the field of human rights.

 Enhance international and domestic contribution in the field of human rights.

 Publish newspapers, books and reports in the field of human rights in Saudi Arabia.

100

The role of the BIPP will be examined in the following chapter.

101 _{See the English version of the NSHR constitution <http://nshr.org.sa/tabid/144/Default.aspx> accessed}

12 August 2012.

102 _{See the Royal Decree which gives permission to the NSHR to exercise its authority under the BLG}

35 3.6.3 Discussion on the effectiveness of the institutions

Although the founding of the human rights institutions may be considered a step forward in the human rights movement in Saudi Arabia,103 _{nevertheless the Human}

Rights Commission, through its regulations and laws, does not implement significant effects within the field of human rights in the domestic law, which may be recognized as being due to the fact that the Commission is a government entity and therefore is not charged with reflecting other KSA policies. Moreover, the right has been assigned to the Commission to visit prisons and partake in discussion surrounding the violations of human rights possibly arising in regard to prisoners; this has facilitated the potential to play a key role in human rights generally.

In contrast, the NSHR, as is seen during the course of this thesis, has adopted a key role in human rights as a whole. For example, throughout the period 2003–2006, the NSHR received a large number of complaints. Since its establishment in 2005 it has received approximately 30,367 cases, 1,394 of which are related to unfair trial and abuse of criminal process.104

This report, along with another, was made available during the years of the NSHR’s functioning, without any figures provided by the Human Rights Commission.

In another report entitled ‘Leadership Ambition and Poor Institution Performance’, the NSHR declared its displeasure concerning the functioning of a number of government-centred institutions, emphasizing that ‘many governmental institutions have a lack of guarantees of human rights and protection of people’s freedom, these institution still have not met the vision of reformation which have been presented from King Abdulla’105 _{Moreover, throughout the same report, the NSHR} recognized the challenges and issues confronting the judicial system, highlighting the judicial performance: for example, the judge’s Ta’zir sentencing is unrestricted, which may become an issue and, as has been seen in the arena of public trials, such issues are in breach of the LCP which clearly provides that all trials must be conducted within the public domain.

103 _{Richard Dekmejian, ‘The Liberal impulse in Saudi Arabia’ (2003) Middle East Journal 410.} 104 ₈th _{Report of the NSHR (2001) <http://nshr.org.sa/> accessed 03 August 2012.}

105 _{See the English version of the 2012 report <http://nshr.org.sa/tabid/87/Default.aspx> accessed 12}

36 In summary, it may be stated that both the NSHR and the Human Rights Commission adopt key roles in the protection of human rights, within the KSA, although the NSHR shows a greater degree of contribution in such an arena.

4. Conclusion

To conclude, it can be seen that, following its involvement within the UN, Saudi Arabia has sought to address a number of elements inherent within and outcomes associated with human rights decisions and the right to a fair trial. Nevertheless, such involvement has increased dramatically following the domestic reform implemented across Saudi Arabia. However, during the past twenty years, a remarkable shift has been witnessed within Saudi Arabian domestic law, which reflects positively on the human rights of suspects, initiated at the point at which constitutional reform was adopted through the Consultative Council, and spanning up until the establishment of two human rights entities, the NSHR and the HRC.

The establishment of the LCP was one of the practical implementations of the right to a fair trial, after its provision in the BLG. However, there remain notable challenges in relation to the compatibility of Saudi domestic law with international human rights standards.

37

CHAPTER THREE: FAIR TRIAL UNDER SHARIAH LAW AND