Judicial system in the Arab League

The Arab League as such does not have a centralized judicial system, but one has been proposed to be put in place in the near future due to recent changes in international politics.

Judicial system in Saudi Arabia

In Saudi Arabia the holy book of the “Quran” is considered to be the constitution of the state and Saudi Arabia therefore follows Islamic Law. The different types of courts in Saudi Arabia are the Sharia courts, Shia courts and special tribunals such as the Board of Grievances and the Commission for the Settlement of Labor Disputes. Both civil and criminal cases are heard in the Sharia courts. Civil matters related to the government and foreign court rulings are decided on by the specialized tribunals.

Judicial system in Bahrain

The constitution of Bahrain grants total independence to the judicial system. The different types of courts in Bahrain are the Sharia courts, constitutional courts, civil courts and military courts. A higher judicial council looks after the administration of all of the courts in Bahrain.

Sharia courts deal with family matters like divorce, inheritance, etc. Legal matters decided on by the primary level courts can be appealed once and only in the Sharia court of appeals located in Manama. The Supreme Court of Appeals is the last court where one can appeal any judgments given by any lower courts.

Civil courts also have a criminal division. The civil courts contain two levels. The first is the summary courts and the second is the Supreme Court. The summary courts are located in each community region and they decide civil and criminal matters.

Judicial system in the United Arab Emirates

The UAE is nodiv for administering a civil law system. Out of the eight emirates, six use the Federal Judicial system while two, namely Dubai and Ras Al Khaima, have their own judicial systems. For the six emirates that follow the Federal judicial system, the Supreme Court is located in Abu Dhabi.Â

The various types of courts in the UAE include the civil courts, criminal courts, Sharia or Islamic courts, and the Court of Cassation. In Dubai, the court structure is comprised of the court of first instance, court of appeals, and the court of Cassation. The court of first instance has civil, criminal and Sharia court divisions, for example.

The court of Cassation is the highest appellate court in the UAE. The court of Cassation drafts the guidelines for the functioning of lower courts and maintains oversight on whether the law is being correctly interpreted and accordingly implemented in the lower courts.Â