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The Board of Grievances signed the official document admitting Saudi Arabia into the Arab Union for Administrative Judiciary during a ceremony in Cairo, making the Kingdom the 16th member of the regional body. According to reports in Arab News, Dr. Ali bin Ahmed Al-Ahaidib, president of the Board of Grievances and chairman of the Administrative Judiciary Council, represented Saudi Arabia at the signing alongside Counselor Mahmoud Ibrahim Abu El-Dahab, president of the union and of Egypt’s State Council. The accession extends the Saudi administrative judiciary’s reach across the region at a time when the Kingdom has pursued extensive reforms to its judicial institutions. Al-Ahaidib noted that the Saudi administrative judiciary has undergone notable judicial, institutional and digital advances in recent years.
The union, which maintains its headquarters in Cairo, was established in December 2015 to foster cooperation among Arab states on administrative justice matters, its official records show. Prior to the Saudi move the organization included 15 judicial bodies from countries including Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Morocco. A union assessment found that the body promotes the exchange of expertise, training programs and harmonized approaches to administrative disputes across member states. The addition of Saudi Arabia broadens the platform for collaborative judicial development in the Arab world.
Al-Ahaidib stated that the step would enable the Board of Grievances to share its experiences with counterpart institutions while opening further opportunities for knowledge transfer on administrative law. The Saudi official emphasized the union’s role in strengthening regional ties among specialized judicial councils. Arab News reported that the Board of Grievances has introduced initiatives such as the judicial intelligence hackathon to integrate artificial intelligence into court processes and reduce procedural delays. These efforts align with the union’s focus on capacity building for administrative judges.
Saudi Arabia’s Board of Grievances functions as the primary administrative judicial authority, adjudicating cases involving government actions and public administrative decisions. The Kingdom has expanded its administrative court system through successive royal orders that have promoted and appointed scores of specialized judges in recent years, according to Saudi Press Agency announcements. Participation in the union complements these domestic reforms by connecting Saudi practices with wider Arab benchmarks on judicial efficiency and transparency. Data from the union places administrative case resolution as a shared priority among its members.
The Arab Union for Administrative Judiciary operates an academy that delivers targeted training to judges from across the region, an institutional program that Saudi representatives expect to engage with actively. According to union documentation, the academy serves as a hub for exchanging best practices on administrative litigation, digital case management and judicial independence standards. Saudi accession is projected to contribute expertise gained from the Kingdom’s ongoing digital transformation of court services. Officials from both the Board of Grievances and the union described the agreement as a foundation for deeper collaboration on administrative justice issues.
