المملكة: “Environment” legitimizes an electronic investigation into “agriculture” violators and officially documents the refusal

revealed The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture announced a new regulatory move aimed at digitizing control and violations procedures, by presenting a proposal to amend the fifth paragraph of Article 248 of the Executive Regulations of the Agriculture System, to give a solid legal and procedural cover that allows the use of electronic means in official investigations.

The new amendments give the Ministry Broad powersto investigate those responsible for violations and everyone connected to them remotely, hear their statements, and verify their defenses via digital platforms or any technical means that the Ministry deems appropriate, which ends the need for physical presence in some cases and speeds up the pace of procedures.

The draft obligated investigators to document all the events of the “digital investigation” in an accurate official record, which includes data on the place and time of the start and end of the session, the name of the investigator and the person questioned, their activity and address, to ensure the preservation of rights and the establishment of transparency in dealing with violations.

The regulation required that the details of the alleged violation, the questions directed, and the answers provided be accurately recorded within the record, with the necessity of appending it with the signatures of the investigator and the person questioned, and in If the latter refuses to sign, the incident will be officially recorded in the record to be an approved legal document.

Through this amendment, the Ministry seeks to fill any legal gaps that may hinder the work of the oversight teams, and to provide high flexibility in performing their tasks and powers, ensuring the speedy resolution of agricultural violations while fully preserving legal guarantees for all concerned parties.