Saudi Arabia · Courts
Court structure of Saudi Arabia
Every tier of the judiciary, what it hears, and where an appeal goes next.
The hierarchy, top to bottom
- Final appellate — Supreme Court
- Reviews compliance with the Sharia and with royal decrees; replaced the former Supreme Judicial Council in 2007.
- Appellate — Courts of Appeal
- Sitting in circuits by subject matter across the provinces.
- First instance — General, Criminal, Personal Status, Commercial and Labour Courts
- Specialised first-instance benches created by the 2007 judicial reform.
- Administrative — Board of Grievances
- A separate three-tier administrative hierarchy with its own supreme court.
- Specialised — Committees for banking, capital markets and customs disputes
- Quasi-judicial bodies outside the ordinary courts, some now being folded into the commercial courts.
Every court in the hierarchy
- supremeRiyadhSupreme Court of Saudi ArabiaReview of judgments for conformity with Sharia and with royal decrees and regulations issued consistently with it, and supervision of the uniform application of law.
- specialisedRiyadhBoard of GrievancesDisputes with government bodies, including public contracts, administrative decisions, disciplinary matters and compensation claims against the state.
- specialisedRiyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and other centresCommercial Courts of Saudi ArabiaCommercial disputes between traders, company and partnership disputes, insolvency, and intellectual-property and franchise matters.
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