Introducing 

Prezi AI.

Your new presentation assistant.

Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.

Loading…
Transcript

Supreme Judicial Council

High Courts

  • Highest authority of judicial system
  • 3 or 5 Judge panels

Supervises Shari'ah Courts and Judges

  • Issue judicial inspection regulations; establish, merge, or abolish courts
  • Specify the areas of court jurisdiction, and the formation of their circuits
  • Name the Appellate Courts' chiefs and their deputies, and First-Degree Courts chiefs and their deputies
  • Issue rules governing the functions and powers of the Courts' chiefs and their deputies
  • Issue rules governing the method of selecting judges
  • Supervise the implementation f Islamic law (Shari'ah) and regulations enacted by the King
  • Review decisions of Courts of Appeals
  • General Council
  • Establish principles for lower courts

Saudi Arabian

Judicial System

Saudi Court System

Courts of Appeals

  • Established in each province
  • Specialized circuits of 3 or 5 Judge panels
  • Hear appealable decisions from First Degree Courts

First Degree Courts

  • General Courts
  • 1 or 3 Judge panels
  • Traffic case circuits
  • Criminal Courts
  • 3 Judge panels
  • Qisas Cases Circuits (Retaliatory Punishment)
  • Hudud Cases Circuits (Prescribed Punishment)
  • Ta'zir Cases Circuits (Discretionary Punishment)
  • Juvenile Cases Circuits
  • Personal Status Courts
  • 1 or more Judges
  • Divorce/Family/Personal Cases
  • Labor Courts
  • Commercial Courts

Modernists

  • Positive view of reform
  • Brings Saudi Arabia in line with other progressive Muslim majority countries
  • Emphasize Saudi Arabia's role in the global marketplace
  • Pushing for codification of laws

King

Board of Grievances

  • Administrative Courts
  • Cases related to the rights provided for in the Civil and Military Service and Pension Laws for government employees and hired hands, and independent public entities and their heirs and claimants
  • King Abdullah from the House of Saud
  • Power as an absolute monarchy
  • Conduit to outsiders
  • Legitimacy to conservative Muslims as defender of mosques and Mecca
  • Cases filed by parties regarding contract-related disputes where the government or an independent public corporate entity is a party
  • Administrative Courts of Appeals
  • High Administrative Courts

Islamists

Views of Judicial Reform

  • Support pure Shari'ah
  • We have “codification” of law through the Quran and Fiqh (ulema jurisprudence)
  • Judicial reform and Ccdification of law is a product of Christendom, and infidel in its nature.
  • We (Arabia) were most successful and widespread when we were practicing Shari'ah in its purist form.
  • Threaten kingship (it is not part of Sharia or Islam, Juhayman)
  • Modernist
  • Islamists
  • Traditionalists

Contemporary Challenges for the Monarchy

  • 1978 Juhayman mosque take over.
  • 1980s-2000s Swing toward revivalist (Islamists believe king is protector of the mosque) to co-opt the threat of their insurgency.
  • 2003 more terrorist activity in Saudi Arabia by Revivalists (Al Qaeda), younger monarchy sees that their fidelity to revivalists is not working to their advantage.
  • 2007 Makes way for King Abdullah to have a pendulum shift by instituting judicial reform.
  • King Abdullah is not in favor of the islamists, can’t act as a modernist, but can use modernist tools of reform.
  • Ideally, Al Saud can now work through the new system to encroach on the power of the revivalists in power (ulema).
  • As westerners we may equate the power of the king to that of our president. However, the regional instability threatens the power of the king.

Traditionalists

  • Support the king instituting judicial reform.
  • Approve of instrumental changes within the constraints of Quranic authority.
  • Generally believe the traditional process has been working.

Contemporary Legal Codes

Royal Decree

5 Categories of Behavior:

  • Wajib (obligatory)

  • Haram (illegal)

  • Mubah: Acts not mentioned within the sources of law, which God is considered to be indifferent to.

Saudi Arabian

Culture

Decision-Making Process

Case Study: Ali Al-Khawahir

  • 2 Fundamental concepts
  • Tribal
  • Islamic

Bibliography

Consensus

Consultation

  • Authoritative and

Binding.

Sources of Law

  • 14 years old when he paralyzed a friend while fighting 10 years ago.
  • 2004 Trial, no lawyer, sentenced to six years in prison for his criminal act.
  • He was also charged in "Qisas" or retribution court. The retribution would have meant "eye for an eye" retribution or payment of an agreed upon sum to the victim.
  • 2007 Judicial reform allowed the king to step in and restrict the court from executing the retribution.
  • Ali Al-Khawahir remains in prison because he can not pay the fine.

The Qur'an and Sunna: A Legal System

Al-Jarbou, Ayoub M.. "The Role of Traditionalists and Modernists on the Development

of the Saudi Legal System" Arab Law Quarterly 21 (2007): 191-229.

Ansary, Abdullah F., Dr. Judicial System Reform. Saudi Arabia Company Laws and

Regulations Handbook. Vol. 1. Washington: Int'l Business Publications, 2012. 59-79. Web.

Lacey, Robert. "Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the

Struggle for Saudi Arabia." New York: 2009.

Long, David E., Maisel, Sebastian. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia"2nd ed. Gainesville:

University Press of Florida, 2010.

"Saudi Arabia Denies Paralysis Sentence." Al-Awsat Asharq. 09 Apr 2013. Web. 29 Apr.

2013. <http://www.aawsat.net/2013/04/article55298279>.

"Saudi Arabia: Free Detainee in ‘Eye-for-an-Eye’ Case " April 13, 2013. Human Rights

Watch. 24 Apr. 2013 <http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/04/13/saudi-arabia-free-detainee-eye-eye-case>.

  • Shari'a Law

Divine, Supreme, and unchangeable

The Quran: The Holy Book, written by Muhammad, and is considered the word of God.

The Sunna: The recognized traditions handed down by the prophet Muhammad and his earliest followers.

The Hadith: The consensus of analogies and reasoning in the Muslim community regarding the interpretations of Shari'a and Islam in general.

Constitutional Islamic Monarchy

  • Royal Decree
  • The Qur'an

A Legal System within a Religion

Legal Interpretations and Decrees

  • Shari'a or Islamic Law
  • 5 categories
  • Mubah
Learn more about creating dynamic, engaging presentations with Prezi