The Legal System of the Saudi Judiciary and the Possible Effects on Reinforcement and Enforcement of Commercial Arbitration

The modernization of the Saudi arbitration environment is more in line with modern international norms of commercial arbitration rules, embodying several “arbitration friendly” principles of the UNCITRAL Model Law, such as competence-competence and the autonomy of the arbitrating parties. However, the new Saudi arbitration environment is still subject to certain intricacies and obstacles presented by the Saudi municipal courts during the process of arbitration and often in the challenge and enforcement stage of an arbitral award in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Thus, addressing such challenges posed by the Saudi courts and finding solutions through analyzing and examining the Saudi court system will help to pave the way toward creating a more welcoming arbitration environment locally and internationally and a viable choice for parties who will otherwise encounter an unwelcome environment in the Kingdom