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The Judicial System in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
 The Ministry of Justice, as is the case in other countries of the world, is the top authority in the judicial system, and undertakes the political and supervisory function over the judicial organ. This organ consists of the following:
- The Summary (Divisional) Courts - one judge - the summary matters are less than 10,000 Saudi Riyals in value.
- The Grand (General) Courts - one judge - for all matters.
- The Review Commission - three judges - for all the issues required to be reviewed by one of the litigants or which the law provides that they should be reviewed as of necessity.
- The Supreme Council of Judiciary - three judges - for all matters brought before it.
In brief, the judicial system in the Kingdom is based on one degree of litigation on the subject, and the role of review is to examine the judgment passed by the court and peruse the reasons of objection (in case of objection) to determine the soundness of the judgment from the legal point of view. As to the Supreme Council of Judiciary, its role is confined in handling matters that have attained finality after revision if there are very reasonable causes justifying their referral from the High Rank to such Council, i.e., the matter concerned is not submitted directly by the disputant parties.
Beside the Ministry of Justice, there has been, over the last forty five years, a judicial organ, called “the Board of Grievances”, with a basic jurisdiction comparable to the jurisdiction of the “French Council of State”, which relates to the jurisdiction of the Board as an administrative justice. There are, however, other jurisdictions for the Board, as it acts as a commercial court, and as a competent court for entertaining foreign judgments to which it must give effect by way of enforcement. It too has various subsidiary powers provided for in the laws related to subjects referred to the Board as a competent authority.
In addition to the Ministry of Justice and the Board of Grievances, there are separate judicial and quasi-judicial bodies, of which we may state as examples the following:
- The Banking Commission, which looks into disputes between individuals and banks.
- Labor Commissions.
- Customs & Taxes Commissions.
- Negotiable Instruments (Commercial Papers) Commissions.
There exists also in the Kingdom a Public Prosecution Commission for criminal cases, as there is also a modern system for commercial arbitration the organization of which is undertaken by the secretary of the Camber of Commerce & Industry.
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