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Summary: General overview of Saudi Arabia's national legal provisions on children's rights, including guidance on how to conduct further research.
National laws on children's rights Status of the CRC in national law In addition, Saudi Arabia has made a general reservation to the CRC such that Islamic law would always be applied in instances where it is in conflict with the Convention. Since Islamic law forms the basis for Saudi Arabia's legal system, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has expressed concern that this reservation may not be compatible with the object and purpose of the Convention. Constitution: Saudi Arabia does not have a single Constitution, though it does have four constitutional documents: the Basic Law, the Shura Council Law, the Council of Ministers Law and the Regional Law. Chapter 5 ("Rights and Duties") of the Basic Law contains several rights provisions, though none that make specific reference to the rights of children. Legislation: In the Saudi legal system, the word legislation is used to describe divine laws - as derived from the Qur'an and Sunnah - but under the Basic Laws, the term "regulatory authority" is used to describe the King's legislative powers. Regulatory acts of particular relevance to the rights of children include, but are by no means limited to: Legal Research: Case Law Case Law Research Compliance with the CRC In depth analysis The Committee has also persistently raised the issue of discrimination against girls, children born out of wedlock, children belonging to religious minorities and children of non-Saudi nationals. The Committee noted "that the mere statement of the general principle of non-discrimination in domestic law is not a sufficient response to the requirements of the Convention", and recommended that the State review its domestic laws and administrative regulations to ensure full respect for the principle of non-discrimination. With regards to child abuse and ill-treatment of children within the family, the Committee noted the insufficient information and awareness of the issue, but expressed concern at reports that domestic violence remains a serious problem in the State. The corresponding recommendations encouraged the State to take legislative measures to prohibit all forms of physical and mental violence against children, including sexual abuse within the family, to establish effective mechanisms to receive, monitor and investigate complaints, and to investigate and prosecute cases of ill-treatment. Current legal reform projects
Under Articles 70 and 71 of the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia, international agreements including the Convention on the Rights of the Child are approved and amended by Royal Decree and become effective from the date of publication in the Officiall Gazette. It is not specified what status treaties have in relation to national law, but it has been presumed by scholars that ratified international conventions have a status equal to or greater than domestic law. It is not clear, however, whether the Convention can be raised in national courts with regards to regulations that originate from the King, Council of Minister and the Consultative Council.
Laws are published in the Official Gazette on the Government's website (http://www.uqn.gov.sa/Pages/Default.aspx) and by the National Centre for Documents and Archives (http://www.ncda.gov.sa/detail.asp?InServiceID=1&intemplatekey=MainPage), which maintains a website in Arabic. The Ministry of the Interior publishes selected rules and regulations in English (http://www.moi.gov.sa/wps/portal) as does the International Labour Organisation's NATLEX database (http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.country?p_lang=en&p_country=SAU). The Basic Law of Saudi Arabia is available in English through the website of the National Embassy (http://www.saudiembassy.net/about/country-information/laws/The_Basic_Law_Of_Governance.aspx). In addition, the GlobaLex project at New York University has published a guide to legal research in Saudi Arabia (http://www.nyulawglobal.org/Globalex/Saudi_Arabia.htm), and the U.S. Law Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/saudiarabia.php) and World Legal Information Institute (http://www.worldlii.org/sa/) provide links to a selection of legal and governmental resources.
CRC Jurisprudence
Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any cases in national courts that reference the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
There do not appear to be online case law research resources available for Saudi Arabia; the Supreme Judicial Council, Courts of Appeal and First Instance Courts do not maintain websites or publish their case law in English.
In its Concluding Observations of 2006, the Committee on the Rights of the Child welcomed the work of the Saudi National Commission for Childhood, which was preparing a comprehensive manual of domestic legal instruments related to children with a view to amending laws to render them fully compatible with the Convention. However, the Committee reiterated its concerns from the previous report with regards to the lack of progress in reforming domestic legislation and the general reservation to the Convention insofar as it conflicts with Islamic law, which "raises serious concerns as to its compatibility with the object and purpose of the Convention". In its thematic observations on the State's report, the Committee urged Saudi Arabia to amend legislation with regards to most of the areas covered.
Juvenile justice is among the areas of national law in which the Committee on the Rights of the Child has highlighted the most serious violations of children's rights. As of the Committee's 2006 Concluding Observations, the minimum age of criminal responsibility was set very low (7 years) and it was possible for persons to be sentenced to death for crimes committed while under the age of 18. Corporal punishment could also be applied to juvenile offenders at the discretion of the judge. The Committee urged the State to review its legislation to abolish the imposition of corporal and capital punishment for crimes committed under the age of 18, to implement alternatives to deprivation of liberty and to improve the availability and quality of specialised juvenile courts, judges, lawyers, police officers and prosecutors. The Committee also expressed concern at reports of acts of police brutality, including extra-judicial and summary floggings of teenagers suspected of acts deemed immoral.
Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any current legal reform projects.