The courts are considered the main pillar in the state, due to the great role they play in maintaining the security and stability of the state, as well as caring for and preserving the public and private interests of the people, through the application and ratification of all articles of the judicial system law. In order to achieve this important equation, this system has been divided into four entities, each of which has its own regulations and legislation, namely the Supreme Court, the court of appeal, the courts of First Instance, and the Enforcement Court.
Types of Courts of the Saudi judicial system
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is based in Riyadh, and it is the body to which the convicted person goes to file a complaint against the court that issued the contested verdict, and therefore it is not considered a party to separate the dispute, it considers the validity of applying the Sharia and statutory rules and their interpretation and review the procedures followed in the trial without reconsidering the merits of the case.
Structure of the Supreme Court
- A prime minister of the rank of minister is called by a royal order, in which the conditions that must be met by a judge of the court of Appeal
- Sufficient number of judges with the rank of President of the court of Appeal
- Specialized chambers consisting of 3 judges each with a chairman for each
- A criminal chamber considering sentences on " murder, stoning, cutting, retribution in self or without self”, consisting of 5 judges with a chairman
- A sufficient number of staff of researchers, technicians, administrators, writers, registrars and others
Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
The competence of the Supreme Court is limited to 4 points, namely:
- Be a subject court in cases of murder, stoning, beheading and retribution
- Be a court of application when reviewing the judgments of the court of Appeal in respect of:
- Violation of the provisions of Sharia
- The verdict is issued by a court that is not properly formed in accordance with the provisions of the judicial system
- The verdict was issued by an incompetent department
- Error in adapting the incident
- Submitting a request to review the progress of the case written off due to the plaintiff's failure to attend the court sessions in exchange for an excuse sought and accepted by the court
- Adjudication of requests for reconsideration of sentences issued by it
Court of Appeal
The courts of Appeal shall review the verdicts issued by the courts of First Instance, after hearing the statements of the opponents and investigating the facts and evidence in accordance with the procedures established in the system of legitimate pleadings and the Criminal Procedure system.
The courts of Appeal consist of specialized chambers, each with 3 judges and a president, except for the criminal chamber, which has 5 judges and a president. The circuits of the court of Appeal are as follows:
- Legal departments
- Penal departments
- Personal status circles “divorce, dislocation, dissolution of the marriage contract, marriage”
- Business districts
- Labor circles
Courts of First Instance
The courts of first instance are spread in the provinces and centers as needed, and each of them consists of specialized departments, one for execution, another for proof, and others.
Jurisdiction of Courts of First Instance
- Specific jurisdiction: that is, each court of first instance considers the case that falls within its jurisdiction according to the type and nature of the dispute, whether it is commercial, personal circumstances and others
- Spatial jurisdiction: the jurisdiction of the court in this case is determined on the basis of the location and place of the dispute
Types and divisions of Courts of First Instance
- General courts
- Criminal courts
- Personal status courts
- Labor courts
- Commercial courts
Execution courts
Enforcement courts are those that proceed to adjudicate disputes on the implementation of a court decision, regardless of its value, and have the authority to apply the law, compulsory execution, and supervision of the enforcement mechanism.
Jurisdiction of enforcement courts
- Final judgments, court decisions and orders
- Arbitral awards issued after deliberation between arbitrators
- Reconciliation minutes issued by the authorized authorities
- Commercial papers
- Notarized contracts and documents
- Judgments, court orders, judgments of arbitrators and notarized transcripts in a foreign country
- Ordinary papers whose content is fully or partially recognized as due
- Contracts and other papers that have a deed of execution under the system
