Courts in Saudi Arabia

Courts in Saudi Arabia are specialized bodies that adjudicate cases, disputes, and crimes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, according to the rules of jurisdiction set forth in the Sharia Procedure Law and the Criminal Procedure Law.

The courts in Saudi Arabia consist of the Supreme Court, courts of appeal, and courts of first instance, which include general courts, criminal courts, personal status courts, commercial courts, and labor courts. 

Establishment of the judicial system in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia was introduced to formal litigation procedures when the Founding King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud established a single presidency of judges in the western region of Makkah Al-Mukarramah in 1926 to supervise the judiciary of the Hejaz courts and its dependencies, in addition to appointing single judges in cities to hear cases that occur in his city. 

Organizing the status of courts in Saudi Arabia

The Royal Decree issued in 1927, establishing the courts on three levels, the Courts of Urgent Matters (Magistrate Courts), Major Courts and Extension Courts (General Courts), and the Judicial Control Authority (Court of Cassation and Conclusion), in addition to clarifying the jurisdiction and functions of the courts, is considered the first codification issued in the form of articles of the Saudi Arabian Law. The first codification issued in the form of statutory articles dealing with the status of the judiciary and courts, under the Sharia Courts Formation System, which consisted of five chapters and 24 articles. In 1931, the Law on the Conduct of Sharia Courts was issued, followed by the decision to define the powers of the courts in the same year, and in 1931, the Law on the Conduct of Sharia Courts was issued. In 1962, the Ministry of Justice was established to supervise the courts and meet their financial and administrative needs, and the Ministry began its work in 1970. 

Mechanisms of the courts in Saudi Arabia

The Basic Law of Governance in Saudi Arabia addresses the working mechanisms of the courts, stipulating that the courts apply the provisions of the Islamic Sharia to the cases brought before them, in accordance with what is indicated in the Quran and the Sunnah and the regulations issued by the ruler that do not conflict with the Quran and the Sunnah.

The Basic Law also stipulates that the courts have jurisdiction over all disputes and offenses, and that the king or his deputy is responsible for enforcing judicial rulings.

Court classifications in Saudi Arabia

Courts in Saudi Arabia have a role in establishing the pillars of justice, safeguarding the private and public interests of citizens, and contributing to achieving security and stability in the state, including the Supreme Court, which is classified at the top of the judicial organization as a complaint against the court that issued the contested ruling and not as a party to adjudicate the dispute, and its main role is in handling hudud cases.

Supreme Court

The Judiciary Law issued in 2007 specified the seat of the Supreme Court in the city of Riyadh, and the president of the Supreme Court is appointed by Royal Decree, has the rank of a minister, and his service can only be terminated by Royal Decree. The Supreme Court is composed of a president and a sufficient number of judges with the rank of president of a court of appeal, and the members are named by Royal Decree upon the proposal of the Supreme Judicial Council.

The law defines the jurisdiction of each court, and the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction is limited to four cases: reviewing hudud cases, supervising judgments issued by the Courts of Appeal, considering requests to resume proceedings after a case has been dismissed for the second time due to the plaintiff’s absence with an excuse accepted by the court, and adjudicating requests for reconsideration of rulings issued by these courts.

Appeals Courts

Among the courts in Saudi Arabia are the Courts of Appeal, which are specialized in reviewing rulings issued by the courts of first instance. They adjudicate cases after hearing the statements of the parties and also have jurisdiction over requests for reconsideration of rulings issued by them.

Execution Courts

Execution Courts in Saudi Arabia are specialized in adjudicating enforcement disputes regardless of their value. They consist of specialized divisions and have the authority to carry out and supervise compulsory enforcement. Their jurisdiction includes enforcing court judgments, decisions, and orders, arbitral awards accompanied by an enforcement order in accordance with the Arbitration Law, reconciliation minutes issued by authorized bodies, commercial papers, contracts and notarized documents, judicial rulings and orders, arbitral awards and notarized documents from foreign countries, ordinary documents whose content is fully or partially acknowledged, and other contracts and papers that have enforceable status under the law.

First Degree Courts

Courts of first instance have two jurisdictions, the first of which is qualitative: The rules of jurisdiction between the courts of first instance are based on the type of case, i.e. the nature of the dispute (commercial, personal status, urgent matters, etc., regardless of the value of the case). The second is spatial: The relevant court specializes in disputes that occur in its district.

The law divides the courts of first instance into several sections that undertake litigation procedures and achieve justice between the parties that resort to them, including: General Courts, Criminal Courts, Personal Status Courts, Labor Courts, and Commercial Courts.

Jurisdiction of First Instance Courts

According to the law, the general courts shall hear cases related to real estate from their headquarters in the governorates and regions of Saudi Arabia, such as disputes over ownership or a related right, claims of damage from the property itself or from its beneficiaries, claims for the establishment of benefits, eviction, payment of rent or contribution, claims to prevent interference with possession or recovery, unless otherwise stipulated by law.It also issues deeds of title to the property or its endowment, and suits arising from traffic accidents and violations stipulated in the Traffic Law and its executive regulations.

Personal Status Courts

Personal Status Courts in Saudi Arabia are responsible for adjudicating all matters related to personal status, including: marriage registration, divorce, khula (judicial divorce at the wife’s request), annulment of marriage, revocable divorce (raj‘ah), custody, maintenance, visitation, endowment registration, wills, lineage, absenteeism, death, inheritance determination, and the distribution of estates, including real estate in cases of dispute, endowment shares, wills, minors, or absentees.

The jurisdiction of Personal Status Courts also includes appointing guardians, establishing guardians and custodians, granting them permission for acts requiring court authorization, removing them when necessary, placing incompetent persons under guardianship and lifting it, with procedures specified in the relevant regulations. They also handle the authorization of illiterate persons, marriage of those without a guardian or whose guardians prevent marriage, in addition to claims arising from personal status matters, and cases filed to impose penalties under the Law of the General Authority for the Guardianship of Minors and Their Equivalents.

Criminal Courts

Criminal courts are competent to adjudicate all criminal cases and all matters on which the judgment of the criminal case brought before them depends, unless the law stipulates otherwise.

Labor Courts

The labor courts hear disputes related to employment contracts, wages, rights, work injuries and compensation, disputes related to the employer's imposition of disciplinary sanctions on the worker or requesting exemption from them, lawsuits filed to impose the penalties stipulated in the labor law, and disputes resulting from dismissal from work.

The jurisdiction of these courts also includes complaints of employers and workers whose objections were not accepted against any decision issued by any competent body in the General Organization for Social Insurance regarding the obligation to register, contributions or compensation, in addition to disputes related to workers subject to the provisions of the Labor Law, including government workers, and disputes arising from the application of the Labor Law and the Social Insurance Law, without prejudice to the jurisdiction of other courts and the Board of Grievances.

Commercial Courts

Commercial Courts in Saudi Arabia have jurisdiction over all original and derivative commercial disputes occurring between merchants, as well as claims brought against a merchant due to their original or derivative commercial activities, disputes between partners in companies, and all claims and violations related to commercial regulations, without prejudice to the jurisdiction of the Board of Grievances, including bankruptcy cases, placing bankrupt individuals under guardianship and lifting it, and other commercial disputes.

In pursuit of developing court systems and keeping pace with the modernization of the judicial framework, the Council of Ministers approved in 2020 the Commercial Courts Law and its procedures to align with international standards and experiences in commercial dispute resolution. The law aims to streamline procedures, enhance their quality, reduce litigation time, improve the outcomes of commercial justice, promote transparency, implement case management, support alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, and activate the role of the private sector.