Saudi Arabia Laws in English

Saudi Arabia Laws Information

Saudi Arabia laws form a Shari'a-based legal system. Islamic jurisprudence — drawn principally from the Hanbali school but with reference to other Sunni schools where appropriate — is the foundational source of law, supplemented by an extensive body of statutory enactments (nizam) issued by Royal Order, Royal Decree, and Council of Ministers resolution. Recent decades have seen substantial codification across commercial, civil-procedure, labour, and criminal-procedure fields.

Constitutional framework

The Basic Law of Governance serves as the principal constitutional document. It identifies the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet as the constitution of the State, defines the Kingdom as a sovereign Arab Islamic State, and sets out the principles governing the monarchy, the family, the economy, the rights and duties of the citizen, the powers of the State, and financial affairs. Riyadh is the capital and Arabic is the official language.

Sources of law

The hierarchy of sources runs from the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah through Islamic jurisprudence to royal-issued statute and subordinate regulation. Statutory enactments are subject to compatibility with Shari'a; where statute is silent, the courts apply Islamic-jurisprudence principles directly.

Court structure

The judicial system has been substantially reorganised in recent decades. The general courts handle Shari'a-based and statutory civil and criminal matters. Specialised commercial courts (Dewan al-Mazalim having been restructured) hear commercial disputes. Labour courts handle employment matters. Personal-status courts handle marriage, divorce, custody, and inheritance. The Supreme Court sits as the apex of the regular judiciary, with the Board of Grievances retaining administrative-law jurisdiction.

Civil and commercial law

The Saudi Civil Transactions Law codifies the law of obligations, contracts, property, and tort. The Companies Law regulates corporate vehicles — joint-stock companies, limited liability companies, partnerships — and is supplemented by the Capital Market Law, the Banking Control Law, and dedicated statutes on insurance, franchising, agency, and competition. The Bankruptcy Law provides a modern restructuring framework.

Banking and finance

Banking activity is supervised by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) under the Banking Control Law and complementary regulations. The framework supports both conventional and Islamic banking, with Shari'a-governance requirements applicable to Islamic finance institutions. Capital markets are supervised by the Capital Market Authority under the Capital Market Law.

Labour and employment

The Labour Law regulates the private-sector employment contract, working time, paid leave, end-of-service gratuity, occupational health and safety, and the resolution of labour disputes through the specialised labour courts. Specific provisions address Saudi-national employment requirements (Saudisation), recruitment of foreign workers, and women in the workplace. Public-sector employment is governed by separate civil-service legislation.

Criminal law

Criminal law combines Shari'a-defined offences (with their fixed penalties), discretionary (taazir) offences, and specific statutory offences. The Law of Criminal Procedure governs investigation, prosecution, trial, and appeal. Specialised statutes address anti-money-laundering, anti-corruption, cybercrime, and counter-terrorism.

Personal status

The Personal Status Law codifies the rules on marriage, divorce, custody, guardianship, and inheritance, drawing principally on Hanbali jurisprudence with reference to other Sunni schools. The codification of personal status represents a significant recent development in Saudi statutory law.

Cross-references

For comparative reading on neighbouring GCC jurisdictions, see UAE laws, Qatar laws, Kuwait laws, Bahrain laws, and Oman laws.

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