Table Of ContentACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
While working on this book for a period of over six years, I have become indebted to scores
of institutions and hundreds of individuals. To all I express my gratitude for their inter-
est in the venture, their generosity in supporting it, and the kindness and hospitality they
extended to me personally. I am sure they will fi nd many errors in what I here produce,
for which they are not responsible; but I hope they will also be generous in forgiving the
mistakes.
My fi rst acknowledgement must be to the King and government of Saudi Arabia who
immediately saw value in supporting an independent study, by an outsider, of the laws of
Saudi Arabia as practised. King Abdullah by royal order decreed the study proceed, acting
on the recommendation of then Minister of Justice Dr Abdullah Al Al-Shaykh and others.
Even before the government was involved, however, another group provided the essen-
tial impulse for the study. Th is is a group of my long-time mentors, friends, and ex-students
among the loose association of Saudi Harvard Law School alumni. Th ey received with
interest my initial idea for the project, helped me propose it to the government, guided its
progress toward offi cial adoption, and then supported it during its course. Th ey include HRH
Ambassador Mohammad bin Nawwaf, HE Dr Motleb Al-Nafi sseh, HE Dr Abdulrahman
Al-Hussayen, Saud Al-Ammari, HE Dr Musaed Al-Aiban, and Professor Ayoub Al-Jarbou.
Without their generous support, this study would never have been undertaken, nor
could it have surmounted various obstacles in its path.
King Abdullah on issuing his order named King Saud University (KSU) in Riyadh as
the formal sponsor of the project. I am grateful to the two rectors of the University who
oversaw it, Dr Abdullah Al Othman and Dr Badran Al-Omar, both of whom intervened
at crucial points to resolve administrative diffi culties. Th e task of actually administer-
ing the project day-to-day was undertaken by KSU ’ s King Abdullah Institute of Research
and Consulting Studies, a body specialised in administering academic research projects.
Th e deans and staff of the Institute have honoured this project with their respect and
support, administering it with integrity and patience. Th ere are many at the Institute who
deserve mention, but I confi ne myself to the former and current deans of the Institute,
Dr Mohammed Al-Harthi and Dr Said Al-Said, and two deputies to the dean immediately
in charge of supporting my project, fi rst Dr Mohammad Aldughaishem and later Mr Bader
Al-Majed, who were the ones who made sure the needful got done.
Also part of the administrative structure of the project was the Scientifi c Committee that
the King ordered be established to assist me in my research, to consist of fi ve individuals,
three professors of law from KSU, one Sharia judge, and one judge from a specialised tribu-
nal. In the end there were two Scientifi c Committees, the second of which had the function
of reviewing the manuscript on completion. As for the fi rst Committee, fi ve impressive indi-
viduals were appointed, all of whom generously off ered their own knowledge and advice
as scholars and judges on how to accomplish the study. From the KSU College of Law and
Political Science came Professors Khalid Alomeir, Khalid Al-Ruwais, and Rezeq Al-Rayes.
Particularly generous with his time was Professor Alomeir, who as Chair conducted the
v
Acknowledgements
committee ’ s work with deep appreciation of the needs of a sound academic study. He
assisted at many crucial stages in the course of the study. Th e Sharia judge on the commit-
tee was Dr Ahmad al- ` Ubudi, who not only is a respected judge of the commercial court of
the Kingdom, then the Board of Grievances, but served as head of the technical commit-
tee working toward the publication of court decisions. Himself an academic, he was at the
time completing his doctoral dissertation on procedure before the commercial courts.
He served throughout as my contact within the Board of Grievances. He helped arrange
many visits and interviews with Board judges and worked hard to obtain for me copies of
as yet unpublished decisions and other materials. Finally, Shaykh ` Abd al-Karim al-Izkari,
a senior judge of the Commercial Papers Committee of the Ministry of Commerce, repre-
sented the specialised tribunals of the Kingdom. As for the second Committee, while it
functioned for a matter of weeks only, not years, it also helped the project substantially, by
helping me meet the last formal requirements of the project, and by off ering a number of
useful suggestions to improve the book. Its members were, in addition to Dr Abudi and
Dr Izkari from the earlier Committee, three professors of law from King Saud University,
Professors Abdulaziz bin Ahmad al-Tuwaijiri, Fahd bin Muhammad al-Majid, and
Abdul Latif bin Muhammad Al Al-Shaikh.
I should emphasise that even these bodies whose immediate task it was to adminis-
ter and assist the project – KSU, the Institute, and two Scientifi c Committees – bear no
responsibility for what I have written, errors and all. Th eir assistance to me was throughout
supportive, collegial, and respectful of my academic independence and objectivity.
Th e two next institutions that must be recognised are the bodies that administer the
regular courts of the Kingdom, both the general courts and the Board of Grievances. From
the general court system, I would like to thank many, but confi ne myself to the former and
present Ministers of Justice and Presidents of the Supreme Council for the Judiciary, who
both showed great interest in the project: Dr Mohammad Al-Issa and Dr Walid al-Sam` a ni.
Th rough Dr Issa I arranged a visit to the highest court of the Kingdom during May 2014.
Within these institutions I acknowledge the extremely useful assistance of Shaykh Yusuf
al-Farraj, a judge who has also held many important positions within the Ministry. Within
the Board of Grievances, I must thank Dr Ali al-Hammad, Deputy President, who with
his authority supported all my initiatives within the Board, including my visits to several
branches of the Board throughout the Kingdom, and also answered many questions based
on his own experience as a judge. Other fi gures in the administration off ering valuable
support include Dr Tariq al-Omar, also involved in the publication of decisions.
As a last institution to thank I mention the Prince Sultan University headed by Rector
Dr Ahmed Yamani. Having previously had the opportunity to visit its college of law for
women, I approached Dr Yamani with a request to organise a research team among its
law students to assist my research. Understanding at once its academic value also for the
students, he asked the very able Dr Emna Chikhaoui, a professor in the College, to set up the
team. In one form or another, through several succeeding classes of ambitious and diligent
law students, this team continued throughout in support of the project.
Turning to individuals, there are too many even to name, much less to thank appropri-
ately. I will mention a few, beginning with judges, then lawyers, then others, all of whom
generously gave of their knowledge and experience.
Among judges, taking fi rst the Board of Grievances, I must thank fi rst Shaykh
Ibrahim al-Rasheed, Chief Justice of the Supreme Administrative Court, earlier President
vi
Acknowledgements
of the Dammam Administrative Court of Appeal. He arranged for me many meetings with
commercial law judges, both in groups and as individuals, and both in Dammam and in
Riyadh. Of judges within the Board, particularly generous with their knowledge, advice,
and assistance were Mohammad al-Ahmad, Majid al-Mushayqah, Abdullah al-Zahrani,
Ahmad al-Jundi, and Budayya al-Budayya. In the general courts I received useful advice
from many, among them notably Dr Hamad al-Khudayri, Shaykh Abdullah Al-Umarini,
Shaykh Salih al-Yusuf, ` A bd al-Rahman al-Luhaydan, ` A bd al-Rahman al-Rumayh, and
Bassam al-Nujaidi.
A mong lawyers, again many, including Saud al-Ammari, Mohammed al-Jadaan,
Abdullah al-Hashim, Abdullah al-Ghamdi, ` Abd al-Latif al-Qarni, Abdulaziz al-Fahad,
Mohammed Salih Zubeir, Abdullah al-Hoqail, Abdullah al-Habardi, and Ahmad Al-Sgaih.
Bandar al-Rasheed, a lawyer working within the Bureau of Experts of the Council of Minis-
ters, kindly introduced me to a number of scholars and judges.
Among professors of Sharia and of law, much help was received from Professors
Bashshar al-Mufdi and Mansour al-Shabeeb.
Next I have the pleasure of thanking the many young Saudis who joined my research
team. First is Yousef al-Muzeini, who has worked with me, usually full-time, for three years,
oft en representing me in the Kingdom. I cannot thank him enough for his intelligent assis-
tance to this project, oft en anticipating the needs of the project before I did and proposing
sound solutions. He grasped the purposes of the project from the start, even in its compara-
tive dimension, an approach new to him. His skills proved impeccable, off ering a model of
how a Sharia college education prepares students to serve as lawyers and scholars of law.
He is now pursuing advanced law degrees in the United States. A UK doctoral graduate in
law, Ahmad Alkhamees, who now has his own law fi rm, assisted me earlier in the same role,
though for a much shorter time. In 2014 he skilfully used his many contacts in the judiciary to
arrange a successful series of interviews with judges both of the Board of Grievances and the
general courts, in various cities of the country. Among the other researchers are many who
were very part-time, working while they studied or as they began their careers at law fi rms.
First among these are the leaders of the teams at Prince Sultan University, three extraordi-
narily capable young lawyers, Sara AlAyyaf, Najla Al-Qadi, and Raneem AlSuhaibani, all
of whom have gone on to earn advanced degrees in law in the United States. Very capa-
ble members of the University team have included May Alajlan, Reem Al-Mousa, Jomana
Al-Kathiri, Danah Al-Muhanna, Hanouf Aldrees, Hind Bahabri, Fahda Alshaykh, Nuha
Almashal, Nora Al-Othman, Saba Algosaibi, Haifa Al-Khenaifer, Alanoud bin Rageeb, and
Noura Al-Owaidah. Also assisting have been a number of young students and instructors
from Sharia and law colleges. Th ese have included Shakir Sufyani, Nasser al-Majed, Noura
al-Zamil, Yasir al-Urayni, Abdulaziz al-Hoqbani, and Razan al-Othaim.
Various colleagues have given me much support. I must single out Ms Peri Bearman,
who generously read over the entire manuscript and off ered invaluable comment and
advice, catching many fl aws and errors (while not being responsible for the rest of them).
Lastly, I owe much gratitude to Sinead Moloney, Tom Adams, and others at Hart Publish-
ing for their thoughtfulness and diligence in arranging the editing and production of this
volume, but even more so for taking on so unconventional a project in the fi rst place, and
for remaining patient and supportive throughout, even in the face of various administrative
complexities.
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