Saudi Crown Prince calls new Personal Status Bylaw a “major qualitative leap” for women’s empowerment, human rights, family stability

Commenting on the law, the Crown Prince explained that it was inclusive in addressing all problems from which families and women were suffering from, affirming that the new law has carefully, and in detail, organised personal status issues.

The law will go into effect 90 days after its publication in Saudi’s official gazette.

While details of the law have not been publically revealed yet, the Crown Prince said it stems from the provisions and purposes of Islamic Sharia, taking into account the latest legal trends and modern international judicial practices in order to keep pace with developments and changes in reality.

The Crown Prince indicated that this law will contribute to preserve and stabilise the family, working to enhance the status of the family and child as well as control the discretionary power of a judge in a way that limits the discrepancy of judicial rulings in this regard, he added.

The Crown Prince emphasised that the introduction of the personal status law reflects the leadership’s commitment to the development and reform approach in accordance with the latest legal trends and modern international judicial practices.

The personal status law is the second out of four specialised legislations that were announced on February 8, 2021, with the Civil Transactions Law and the Penal Code for Discretionary Sentences remain to be issue.

In a sign of the positive impact of Saudi Arabia’s reforms when it comes to reforms regarding women, the kingdom scored 80 (out of 100) on the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law (WBL), a global measure of female-focused legal reforms – up nearly 10 points on the previous year, just behind the UAE and well ahead of other Gulf countries in the rankings.

Out of eight categories, it scored a maximum 100 in five – mobility, workplace, pay, entrepreneurship, and pension.