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Courts

Sharia Courts of Saudi Arabia

Also Known As General Courts

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The general court system of Saudi Arabia, which applies Sharia, chiefly through the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence, as courts of general jurisdiction for criminal, civil and family matters. A separate Board of Grievances, an independent administrative judicial body reporting directly to the King, handles disputes involving the government and its agencies, so the Saudi judicial system runs the two branches in parallel rather than as a single hierarchy.

Facts
Disputed
Founding Year
1970 1
Qadi courts applying Sharia predate the modern Saudi state by centuries; 1970 is when King Faisal created a Ministry of Justice to administer the courts, and the 1975 Law of the Judiciary then organized the modern hierarchy of general and summary courts under a Supreme Judicial Council, so the 1970 to 1975 window, not a single year, is when the current system took shape.
Seat
Riyadh, seat of the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Judicial Council; courts of first instance and appeal sit nationwide. 1
Jurisdiction Scope
General jurisdiction over criminal, civil and family matters, applying Sharia under the frame the 1992 Basic Law of Governance sets, which names the Quran and Sunna as the constitution of the state. 2
Cross-Tradition Connections

In Legal System

Sources
1. Ministry of Justice History, Saudi Arabia
Ministry of Justice, Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaView the Source
2. Basic Law of Governance, Saudi Arabia (WIPO Lex)
WIPO Lex, World Intellectual Property OrganizationView the Source
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