The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, is attending the 41st Summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia, on January 5, 2021.
Royal Council of Saudi Arabia Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Saudi Arabia has announced new judicial reforms, putting the kingdom on a path to codified law – a big step, considering the deeply conservative country has no codified legal system to accompany sharia or Islamic law, which currently exists.
“Personal status law, civil settlement law, the Penal Code for discretionary sanctions and the law of evidence represent a new wave of judicial reforms in the Kingdom,” the Saudi state news agency said. SPA, quoted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman evening.
The reforms, the Crown Prince said, “will help predict court rulings, increase the level of integrity and efficiency of judicial institutions, and help increase the reliability of control procedures and mechanisms.” The new laws will be announced throughout 2021, according to its statement.
The news is the latest in a series of dramatic economic and social reforms launched by the 35-year-old Crown Prince with the aim of modernizing the kingdom. It fits into its Vision 2030 agenda, which aims to diversify the off-oil economy and attract foreign talent and investment to the kingdom, and comes as Saudi Arabia presents itself as a destination for headquarters. international business.
“This is an important step on the path to global best practices that give companies confidence to invest,” Tarek Fadlallah, Middle East CEO of Nomura Asset Management, told CNBC on Tuesday.
Not having a codified legal system often resulted in inconsistency in court rulings and lengthy litigation proceedings. The announcement made specific mention of Saudi women, who have long had a lower status than men in terms of legal and economic rights, and which the Crown Prince described as particularly detrimental to the lack of laws. written on certain issues.
“Discrepancies in court rulings have led to a lack of clarity in the rules governing incidents and practices, and has harmed many people, mostly women,” Bin Salman was quoted as saying by the SPA.
The rights of women in the kingdom, despite improving in some areas such as driving, employment and freedom of movement in recent years, continue to be an important target of criticism from human rights groups and some foreign governments. Several activists leading Saudi women remain in prison and report that they are being tortured, a complaint denounced by the Saudi state.
Ali Shihabi, a Saudi analyst close to the kingdom’s royal court, tweeted about the reforms on Monday afternoon and described the news as “an important step in legal reform and acknowledging that the Saudi legal system has a way to go.” to meet international standards and for management to appreciate the urgency and importance of this reform. ”
“Highlighting its impact on women is particularly interesting,” Shihabi added.
The Crown Prince described the current legal system as “painful for many people and families, especially women, which allow some to evade their responsibilities. This will not happen again once these laws are enacted in accordance with laws and legislative procedures, ”he said. The statement did not explain further details of what specific practices and sanctions would be changed.
His statement added that forthcoming legal reforms “will address the lack of clarity of the rules governing … protracted litigation that is not based on established legal provisions and the absence of a clear legal framework for individuals and businesses.” .