Judiciary of Saudi Arabia

The legal system is based on the Islamic code of Sharia,[1]: 111  with its judges and lawyers forming part of the country's religious leadership or ulama.

[4]: 161  These administrative tribunals, referred to as "committees", deal with specific issues regulated by royal decrees, such as labor and commercial law.

[4]: 146 The judicial establishment, in the broadest sense, is composed of qadis, who give binding judgements in specific court cases, and muftis and other members of the ulama, who issue generalized but highly influential legal opinions (fatwas).

[10]: 16–20  The Grand Mufti (currently, Abdul-Aziz Al ash-Sheikh) is the most senior member of the judicial establishment as well as being the highest religious authority in the country; his opinions are highly influential among the Saudi judiciary.

[11] Qadis generally have degrees in Sharia law from an Islamic university recognized by the Saudi government with, in many cases, a post-graduate qualification from the Institute of Higher Judiciary in Riyadh.

The main complaint reportedly made by Saudis privately is that judges, who have wide discretion in interpreting the Sharia, have no knowledge, and are often contemptuous, of the modern world.

Reported examples of judges' attitudes include rulings banning such things as the children's game Pokémon, telephones that play recorded music, and sending flowers to hospital patients.

[17] In the same year, the court held trial sessions of human rights activists, including Mohammed Saleh al-Bejadi, co-founder of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA)[16] and Mubarak Zu'air, a lawyer for long-term prisoners,[7] and a protester, Khaled al-Johani, who spoke to BBC Arabic Television at a protest in Riyadh.