INTRODUCTIONThelegal system of Saudi Arabiais based onSharia,Islamiclaw derived from theQu'ranand theSunnah(the traditions) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The sources of Sharia also includeIslamic scholarly consensusdeveloped after Muhammad's death. Its interpretation by judges inSaudi Arabiais influenced by the medieval texts of the literalistHanbalischool of IslamicJurisprudence. Uniquely in the Muslim world, Sharia has been adopted bySaudi Arabiain anuncodifiedform. This, and the lack of judicial precedent, has resulted in considerable uncertainty in the scope and content of the country's laws. The government therefore announced its intention to codify Sharia in 2010, but this is yet to be implemented. Sharia has also been supplemented by regulationsissued by royal decree covering modern issues such asintellectual propertyandcorporate law. Nevertheless, Sharia remains the primary source of law, especially in areas such ascriminal,family,commercialandcontract law, and the Qu'ran and the Sunnah are declared to be the country's constitution. In the areas oflandandenergy lawthe extensive proprietorial rights of the Saudi state (in effect, theSaudi royal family) constitute a significant feature.

The current Saudi court system was created byKing Abdul Aziz, whofounded the Kingdom of Saudi Arabiain 1932, and was introduced to the country in stages between 1927 and 1960. It comprises general and summary Sharia courts, with some administrative tribunals to deal with disputes on specific modern regulations. Courts in Saudi Arabia observe few formalities and the country's firstcriminal procedurecode, issued in 2001, has been largely ignored. Decisions are made without juries and usually by a single judge.King Abdullah, in 2007, introduced a number of significant judicial reforms, although they are yet to be fully implemented.

Criminal law punishments in Saudi Arabia include public beheading, stoning, amputation and lashing. Serious criminal offences include not only internationally recognized crimes such as murder, rape, theft and robbery, but alsoapostasy, adultery, witchcraft and sorcery. In addition to the regular police force, Saudi Arabia has a secret police, theMabahith, and "religious police", the Mutawa. The latter enforces Islamic social and moral norms. Western-based human rights organizations, such asAmnesty InternationalandHuman Rights Watch, have criticized the activities of both the Mabahith and the Mutawa, as well as a number of other aspects of human rights in Saudi Arabia. These include the number of executions, the range of offences which are subject to the death penalty, the lack of safeguards for the accused in the criminal justice system, thetreatment of homosexuals, the use oftorture, the lack ofreligious freedom, and the highly disadvantaged position of women. TheAlbert Shanker InstituteandFreedom Househave also reported that "Saudi Arabia's practices diverge from the concept of therule of law."

1.1 RESEARCH PROBLEM

The research problem to be dealt within this project are:

1. The Sources of law in Saudi Arabia2. The Court and the Judiciary System in Saudi Arabia

3. Law enforcement mechanism in Saudi Arabia

4. Major areas of law in Saudi Arabia including Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Family Law, Commercial Law & Contract Law etc.

5. Human Rights and Rule of Law issues - (Human rights issues and failings in therule of lawin Saudi Arabia have attracted strong criticism. These include criminal law punishments that are considered as cruel, as well as the position of women, religious discrimination, the lack of religious freedom.)1.2 LITERATURE REVIEW

a. Vogel, Frank E.; Islamic Law and the Legal System of Saudi ArabiaThis volume investigates the legal system of Saudi Arabia both for its own sake and as a case-study of an Islamic legal system. As a study of Saudi Arabia, it is the first extensive treatment in English of the constitution and Islamic court system of Saudi Arabia. As a study of an existing legal system in continuity with past Islamic law and practice, it sheds new light on Islamic legal doctrine, practice, and institutions, correcting for past scholarly neglect of Islamic law's application. The book develops a framework of concepts, rooted in both Islamic and western legal theory, useful for the comparative description and analysis of Islamic legal systems and applications, past and present.

b. Wilson, Peter W.; Saudi Arabia: The Coming StormDrawing on personal experiences, hundreds of interviews, and unpublished primary sources, veteran journalists Peter Wilson and Douglas Graham examine the challenges confronting the House of Saud in the wake of the war in the Persian Gulf.Among the provocative topics discussed are: Saudi Arabia's growing indebtedness, and the government's inability to balance its budget; the reasons why the kingdom's armed forces were unable to defend the country despite hundreds of billions of dollars in arms spending; the country's worsening unemployment problem; the growing strength of Saudi Arabia's fundamentalists, who possibly could topple the regime.

c. Wynbrandt, James; A Brief History of Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia is a country in transition, slowly but steadily changing from within and increasingly flexing its muscle and influence regionally. The country has entered the new century as a pivotal regional power. As the birthplace of Islam, it remains a powerful moral leader of the Muslim world, particularly the Arab arena. Its response to domestic terrorism has shown that the monarchy has the drive to confront destabilizing elements within its borders and the increasing value of its oil has provided financial and political security at home. Yet Saudi Arabia still faces the challenges of unemployment for many of its citizens, and its education system makes it difficult for Saudi youth to compete in the global market. While the country held its first elections in history in 2005, the war in Iraq has deepened the divide between Sunni and Shiite policies.

From Saudi Arabia's pre-Islamic history to the events of today, contains a balanced, informative perspective on the country's long history.Complete with illustrations, maps, charts, a chronology, and basic facts, this comprehensive overview of the history of Saudi Arabia places the political, economic, and cultural events of today into a broad historical context1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1. To trace the sources of Law in Saudi Arabia

2. To understand the Court and the Judiciary System in Saudi Arabia

3. To understand the Law Enforcement mechanism in Saudi Arabia

4. To discuss the Major Areas of law in Saudi Arabia

5. To discuss the Human Rights issues and analyse as to how the rule of law has failed in Saudi Arabia.1.4 SCOPE OF STUDY & LIMITATIONS

Although this project contains vast information and many more number of pages can be written in this aspect but the researcher, due to certain limitations will limit the research to data found in books & internet.

1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The researcher has adopted a purely doctrinal method of research. The researcher has made extensive use of the library at the National Law University and Judicial Academy. Also the books authored by experts in the particular field have been referred for a proper understanding and analysis.

1.6 CHAPTERIZATION (TENTATIVE)

1. Introduction

1.1 Research Problem1.2 Literature Review

1.3 Aims and Objectives

1.4 Scope of Study and Limitations

1.5 Research Methodology

2. Sources of Law

3. The Courts and The Judiciary

3.1 Court Structure

3.2 Judges

3.3 Recent reforms and developments

4. Law Enforcement Mechanism

4.1 Regular and Secret Police

4.2 Religious Police (Mutawa)

5. Major Areas of Law

5.1 Constitutional Law

5.2 Crimnal Law

5.3 Family Law

5.4 Commercial Law and Contract Law

5.5 Land Law

5.6 Labor Law

6. Human Rights and Rule of Law issues

6.1 Rule of Law

6.2 Womens Rights

6.3 Political Freedom and Freedom of Speech

6.4 Criminal Trials and punishment

6.5 Religious freedom

7. ConclusionBIBLIOGRAPHYBIBLIOGRAPHYVogel, Frank E.; Islamic Law and the Legal System of Saudi Arabia, BRILL 2000Wilson, Peter W.; Saudi Arabia: The Coming Storm, M.E. Sharpe Publication, 1994

Wynbrandt, James; A Brief History of Saudi Arabia, Infobase Publishing House, 2010

http://www.saudiembassy.net/about/countryinformation/government/legal_and_judicial_structure.aspx accessed on 29/03/2015http://countrystudies.us/saudi-arabia/51.htm accessed on 02/04/2015--------------------------------- Wynbrandt, James; Gerges, Fawaz A. (2010).A Brief History of Saudi Arabia. p.183

Wilson, Peter W.; Graham, Douglas (1994).Saudi Arabia: the coming storm. p.201

Vogel, Frank E. (1999).Islamic law and legal system: studies of Saudi Arabia.

Dammer,, Harry R.; Albanese, Jay S. (2010).Comparative Criminal Justice Systems. p.106

HYPERLINK "http://www.democracyweb.org/rule/saudiarabia.php" "Rule of Law: Country Studies - Saudi Arabia".Democracy Web: Comparative Studies in Freedom. HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Shanker_Institute" \o "Albert Shanker Institute" Albert Shanker Instituteand HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_House" \o "Freedom House" Freedom House.