Law of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia operates a religious legal system based on Islamic law, applying the Hanbali school of Sunni jurisprudence as its primary source of law, with the Quran and the Sunnah treated as the kingdom's constitution rather than a single secular founding document. Judges, known as qadis, have traditionally exercised broad discretion to interpret Sharia principles on a case by case basis rather than applying a comprehensive Western style civil code, although the government has issued royal decrees codifying specific areas such as commercial, labor and traffic law to supplement religious sources where administrative uniformity is needed. The King holds ultimate legislative and judicial authority, and specialized boards and committees handle commercial, labor and administrative matters alongside the Sharia courts that hear most civil and criminal cases. Reforms since the 2010s have introduced written procedural codes in some areas and reorganized court administration, though Islamic law remains the constitutional foundation of the system.