-         Kingdom’s  Recent Judicial Reforms.

-         Foreign Investment Opportunities in the Kingdom.

-         Real Estate Industry Reforms in the Kingdom.

-         Electronic Commerce in Saudi Arabia

-         General Features of Overall Development in the Kingdom.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to present to you with profound appreciation, sincere goodwill, and cordiality our legal magazine, “Legal Review”, for your perusal.  For topicality and because of this year’s  Jeddah Economic Forum, we have tried  to make its topics interesting  and current to conform with  the Ninth Jeddah Economic Forum, launched under the kind auspices of HRH Prince Khalid Faisal, Holy Makkah Prince and influenced by the auspicious reign of HRH the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, whose blessed reign reflects major successive economic successes, achievements and reforms, particularly in the area of recent  judicial reforms.

This issue of “Legal Review” strives to shed  light on some of the Kingdom’s recent  outstanding national achievements.

We would also like to extend our best congratulations and sincere appreciation to the top executive personnel of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, particularly the Chairman of its Board of Directors, as well as the Chairman of the Jeddah Economic Forum and Jeddah Marketing Council, for the effort they have made in planning  such a well organized and well supervised forum. Through their efforts, the Jeddah Economic Forum is considered to be the most Significant Economic Event taking place in the region where numerous world  leaders,  economists, experts, academicians, media people, and local and international journalists meet to exchange viewpoints and experiences, leading to a better world for the happiness and prosperity of all mankind. We sincerely wish all the conferees true success in their blessed endeavors and fruitful efforts to build a topnotch nation.

In order to continue Saudi Arabia’s  Major National Achievements and reforms of the blessed reign of the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz,  his Royal Highness  issued a decree approving the Judicial and Board of Grievances’ systems, as well as ratifying the mechanism of the executive work pertaining to these systems. In the decree issued last October,  his Royal Highness emphasized the importance of making ready and available the necessary trained  personnel, court buildings,  and other requisites to realize the goals and objectives of these judicial reforms. Consistent with his earnest reform goals, his Royal Highness the King issued his Honorable decree approving the minutes of the commission of basic laws No. 4/28 in the Royal Court, wherein the commission is of the opinion that this overall upgrade  of judicial systems should be effected within the framework of an integrated scheme called “{King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Project to reform and upgrade the judicial systems}”. His Majesty has allocated a special budget of  Seven Billion  Saudi Riyals ($1.87 billion US) for this project.

Given the importance of  the independence of the judiciary,  this  principle was stated in Article One of the first chapter of the new law.  Moreover, the rule cited numerous practical applications which aim at providing guarantees, safeguarding the independence of the judiciary, and guarantees which the Islamic Law of Shariah has already attested and approved.

The new judiciary system has defined the relationship between the judiciary system and the Ministry of Justice as a state executive system headed by the Minister of Justice, representing the executive power. It also seeks to effect reform in the relationship between the judiciary and the executive power, to ensure the prevalence of the principle of the independence of the judiciary, and to widen the scope of the restrictions which ensure the independence of power to prevent it  from being encroached upon by the executive power. This trend is clearly evidenced through the use of the term {“The Supreme Judicial Council”}, as a substitute for the terms {The Ministry of Justice and the Minister of Justice}, in the articles of the new judiciary system.

The powers of the Ministry of Justice, under the new judicial system, now are  administrative and financial and limited to upgrading the courts and its executive systems. However, the transfer of such previous powers from the Ministry of Justice does not belittle or degrade the effective and important role which this Ministry has played, as an effective executive system that has exerted itself greatly to develop the judiciary system and maintain the independence of the judiciary.

As to the specifics of the new law,  Article Four concerns  the Board of Grievances, and establishes an Administrative Judiciary Council, whose membership shall consist of  the following:-

Head, Board of Grievances – Chairman.

Head, High Administrative Court – Member.

Most Senior Vice President of the Board.

The areas of jurisdiction of the Board, besides the one already provided for, shall be as follows:-

The competences and powers of the Supreme Judiciary Council stipulated in the Judiciary System.

The Head of the Administrative Judiciary Council shall assume the same powers of  the Head of the Supreme Judiciary Council. However, as to the High Administrative Court based  in Riyadh City, it consists of a president and a sufficient number of judges each classified as Head of the Court of Appeal. The Head of the High Administrative Court shall be named by a royal decree and shall have a minister’s grade. His discharge shall also be by means of a royal decree. Naming the members of the High Administrative Court shall also be made by means of a royal decree and pursuant  to a proposal made by the Supreme Judiciary Council.

It is the duty of the new system to see that  the High Administrative Court takes the form of a plenary session (General Assembly), whose membership is comprised of  all judges of the High Administrative Court. Its rulings  shall be issued by a majority of the members.

The new Judicial System is expected to be a vast improvement in conducting justice in the Kingdom and should  have a tangible positive impact on the reactivation of the Kingdom’s Judiciary System in  realizing more justice for all. It should also move the country to a system more consistent with the judicial systems of other nations.

Appearing  before the new Court of Appeal is a worthwhile improvement that did not exist previously.  Moreover, the allocation of  Seven Billion Saudi Riyals to upgrade the Judiciary System reflects how serious the Kingdom’s leaders are in  upgrading this vital facility which is anticipated to lead to the influx of further foreign  investments in Saudi Arabia.

One of the most important characteristics of the new system is demonstrated by arranging it into three adjudication grades, instead of the two  previously utilized (namely, courts of the first instance and courts of cassation), to now courts of the first instance, courts of appeal, and the Supreme Court. This classification provides a greater  opportunity for litigants to have their lawsuits considered in a more timely manner to achieve greater judicial efficiency.

It is worth mentioning that the new system has created, for the first time, specialty courts for mercantile, labor, and penal adjudication, as well as special courts for  personal status issues, which were previously nonexistent. Due to this, the jurisdictions of the commercial circuits in the Board of Grievances – as well as the specialized commercial committees active in diversified functions, such as  securities and bond disputes settlement offices, commercial fraud settlement committees, customs disputes settlement committees, and banks disputes settlement committees – shall now be decided by  the commercial courts. This will require that all  labor disputes now be adjudicated by the new  labor court. Similarly,  the criminal  courts shall consider and decide all criminal offenses,  while the personal status courts shall try disputes of a personal status nature, such as divorce and alimony.

All of this massive change shall undoubtedly result in  a major qualitative shift providing  significant improvement to the Kingdom’s judicial system and will confirm that  the independence of the judiciary is grounded upon  law as the only power.

The creation of the commercial courts is expected to  lead to the consolidation of administrative functions  and shall enhance credibility of the commercial transactions and promote more  local and foreign investments.

This new judiciary system is consistent with  the ongoing reforms throughout Saudi Arabia.  The Kingdom’s adoption of a dual judiciary,  i.e. the General and Administrative Judiciaries, will enhance  the principle of justice and equity in the Kingdom for citizens and expatriates alike and foster an expectation that their  rights will be protected with equity and honesty.

All Saudi citizens appreciate what the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has done in committing  Seven Billion Saudi Riyals for judicial reform  to better train and enable judges and lawyers to fulfill  their professional responsibilities in  new court locations throughout  the Kingdom.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has witnessed many significant  structural and economic reforms that have contributed greatly  to maintain and promote an attractive investment environment. The recent  establishment of Commercial Courts in the Kingdom pursuant to the new Judiciary Law — preceded by issuance of the Foreign Capital Regulation, establishment of the Upper Economic Council, Upper Council for Oil and Minerals Affairs, and the Upper Tourism Authority — has enhanced  the stability of trading transactions and increased  foreign and local investment. Add to this the  establishment of huge economic cities and centers in the Kingdom, and one can see that Saudi Arabia is serious about promoting economic development. All of these tremendous reforms and achievements are a direct result of the volume of the Kingdom’s political and economic changes in line with those changes occurring in the world community.

The pace of the accelerating growth of the Kingdom economy and its stability, coupled with the real estate development boom and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ approval of the largest unprecedented budget in the history of the Kingdom, has made the Kingdom extremely attractive to foreign investors. In fact, the Kingdom now is ranked as one of the 20 best countries in the world for investment opportunities. Foreign investments in Saudi Arabia rose to more than $18 Billion US in 2006, taking the lead among all of the Arab and Middle East region countries. This ranking was reported by one of the international organizations of the United Nations concerned with measuring the volume of foreign investment flows in the world (UNCTAD). UNCTAD recently stated that the economic growth and improvement of the investment climate witnessed in a number of countries, specifically Western Asian Region, have contributed significantly to the increased volume of international investments. UNCTAD’s report was issued just a few days after the World Bank reported that improvement of the investment and business environment in the Kingdom ranked it as 23^rd in the world. The business performance report issued by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank assessed the commercial business in 178 countries and the extent of their investment competition.   Saudi Arabia was ranked in first place among Arab and Middle East nations in terms of attracting new investments.

Additionally, the Kingdom is taking the lead in working with Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates to launch a common market in the Gulf region. The creation of one market among these six countries is expected to offer equal opportunities for their citizens including the right to work in all governmental and private institutions in member states, the right to buy and sell real estate and make other investments, the right to move freely among the member nations, and the right to receive education and certain health benefits. Most importantly, the goal is to have a common currency by 2010, although some commentators suggest that this is too ambitious and will take longer to achieve.

The efficient plans and strategies adopted by the Saudi Investment Authority have had the effective impact of attracting foreign investors to the Kingdom. As the Authority refined its strategy during the previous year by better serving investors and spearheading  development through better marketing, international confidence in the strength and firmness of the Saudi economy has grown. With the rise in oil prices and the launch of the country’s integrated economic cities, licenses have been recently issued to fund many foreign and mixed projects totaling 253 Billion Saudi Riyals. As for the attraction of foreign capital to the Kingdom, the Authority took the initiative to pursue a new technique to promote investment opportunities by hosting several meetings between officers of the Authority and senior representatives of interested companies, in order to better understand their needs and discuss how certain projects could be realized, specifically, in the power, transportation, and technology sectors.

The Foreign Investment Act and its regulations in its fifth article stipulate: the licensed investment for foreign investments to follow may be one of the following two forms:

1 –       Firms owned by a national investor and a foreign investor.

2 –       Firms fully owned by a foreign investor, whereupon the legal entity for such firms shall be pursuant to the Act and its regulations.

In promoting foreign investments in the Kingdom, the Act’s sixth article states: ”The licensed project, under this regulation, shall have all the advantages, motives and warranties enjoyed by the national project, pursuant to the regulations and instructions.” The seventh article of the Act also conferred upon the foreign investor this right: “The foreign investor shall have the right to retransfer abroad his portion in the sale of his share or from the surplus of the settlement or the profits realized by the firms, or dispose thereof by any other legal means; he shall also have the right to transfer the necessary sums to meet any contractual obligations concerning the project.” As for the legal warranties provided by the regulation to the foreign investor, the Act stated in its eleventh article: “No confiscation may be made to the investments, related to the foreign investor, wholly or partly, except by a judicial adjudication, nor may they be expropriated, wholly or partly, except for the public interest, in exchange for a fair compensation, pursuant to the regulations and instructions.”

As for the legal mechanisms available, if any disputes arise between the foreign investor and the governmental entities or the Saudi partners, the thirteenth article of the Act states: ”Without prejudice to the agreement in which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia shall be a part:

1 -       Settlement of disputes which arise between the government and the foreign investor, relative to his licensed investments, under this regulation, shall be made amicably; if such becomes impracticable, then the dispute shall be settled, in accordance with the regulations.

 2.        Settlement of disputes which arise between the foreign investor and his Saudi partners, relative to his licensed investments, under this regulation, shall be made amicably, in the best way possible; if such becomes impracticable, then the dispute shall be settled, in accordance with the regulations.”

The foreign investment firms enjoy all the advantages, motives and warranties enjoyed by Saudi firms, including but not limited to:

·   The motives stipulated therein, the national industries protection and encouragement act, issued by the Royal Decree No. 50, dated 23/12/1381H.

·   Ownership of the necessary real estate to exercise the licensed activity, for housing or the accommodation of personnel, pursuant to the provisions of the Non-Saudis Ownership Regulation to the real estate and investment therein, issued by the Royal Decree No. M/15, dated 17/04/1421H.

·   The advantages arising from the agreement of avoiding double taxation and the investment encouragement and protections agreements, concluded by the Kingdom.

·   Free transferability of shares among the partners and others.

·   The sponsorship of the foreign investor and his employees shall be under the licensed firm.

·   Ability to obtain industrial loans, pursuant to the provisions of the Industrial Development Fund.

Awareness of the importance of the local and foreign investments and their role in supporting economic development has led to the rise in competition among various countries to obtain the lion share of such investments in order to develop their national economies as well as to facilitate the process of integration with international economic regulation. As the competent authorities continuously review the regulations related to the proposed investment, this will invariably lead to more transparency and increase the likelihood of additional foreign investments and a more attractive investment environment contributing to national prosperity.

With an estimated investment of 300 Billion Saudi Riyals, the Kingdom is ranked as the second largest real estate market in the world, according to the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. All current economic data points to the fact that the Kingdom will continue to experience an important and considerable real estate boom as a result of   the general investment climate attracting investors, and regional and international companies directly resulting from the economic and legal reforms and the huge developmental initiatives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ben Abdul Aziz. This situation has made real estate an actual industry in the full sense of the word wherein investors can become active in innovation, creation and presentation techniques, and marketing methods. The offering  of real estate stocks characterized by an index suggests positive results, reflecting the worldly wisdom of real estate owners and the role of real estate brokerage offices. Current investment in real estate portfolios in the Kingdom has been estimated at approximately Fifty Billion Saudi Riyals and all indications are that this is just the beginning. The Saudi government has taken the lead by sparking development of the Kingdom cities, which has encouraged private investments.

The real estate sector contributes approximately 9.5% of the Kingdom’s non-oil gross national product.   Experts expect this percentage to grow substantially by the end of the Eighth Development Plan in 2009. This growth also should provide Saudi citizens, particularly its youth, with more employment opportunities, since employment in the real estate sector represents about 15% of the gross labor in Saudi Arabia. Economists attribute the boom of the Saudi real estate market to a number of factors, particularly the rise in global oil prices, economic growth and prosperity increases in the Kingdom, greater liquidity in personal income and the nation’s population growth, all of which have caused high demand for real estate units. Recently, the government announced the launch of Saudi Home Loans Co. (SHLC) to promote home ownership by making housing more available and affordable for the Kingdom’s middle and lower-income citizens. In a country where only 22% of Saudi citizens own their own home, this initiative is welcome. The government is also nearing completion of a mortgage law that is compliant with Islamic law which is expected to increase home ownership. A surge in rent and real estate prices over the past year has added more pressure on the government to deal with a growing housing deficit.    One commentator has stated that the country will need some 4.5 million new housing units within the next five years to accommodate the Kingdom’s growing population.

 Real estate investment opportunities have become  numerous throughout the Kingdom, but the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah gained the lion share of such investment opportunities due to the presence of religious tourism for those Muslims making pilgrimages. Regulation of non-Saudi ownership in real estate investment granted to foreign investors under the Foreign Investment Act has been beneficial as well. For example, some of its articles state as follows:

Article (a): The non-Saudi investor of the natural or artificial capacity, licensed to practice any professional, handicraft or economic business, may own the necessary real estate to exercise such business and the necessary real estate include his housing and the accommodation of his employees, after the approval of the license issuing entity. The mentioned above real estate may be leased, subject to what have been set forth in the fifth article herein.

(b) If the abovementioned license includes purchase of buildings or lands to construct buildings thereon and invest them by sale or lease, the gross cost of the project must not be less than Thirty Million Saudi Riyals and the Council of Ministers may modify such amount, provided that such real estate must be invested within five years of its ownership.

As the real estate sector grows in the Kingdom due to ample supply, availability of capital, and the vastness of the Kingdom itself, there is no question that Saudi Arabia will experience an unbelievable real estate boom to meet the needs of its citizens and foreign visitors. This will surpass the progress already seen in   the banking industry and stock market.

However, challenges remain, including:

-         Devise a mechanism to license contributions and then follow up to control the investments.

-         Rectify the real estate stock offerings and the method of circulating them, as the Ministry of Commerce & Industry seeks to do.

-         Provide protection for all investors to safeguard their rights and settle upon an authority to resolve their problems until the achievement of secured investments.

-         Unify the official authorities so consistent and non-duplicative planning and implementation in real estate matters is achieved.

-         Develop the overall organizational and legal environment.

-         Lay new methods of financing for real estate ventures. Organize training of  the real estate profession in the brokerage, sale, marketing, real estate development, estimation, assessment and property management.

In short, the Kingdom is poised to develop another  industry which will provide investment and finance opportunities to meet the housing needs of each citizen. And this will also provide immense labor opportunities for Saudi young people who are the Kingdom’s future.

Electronic Commerce represents one of the key parts of what is known today as the Digital Economy, which has resulted from the boom in Information Technology. Electronic Commerce depends mainly on the Communication and Computing Sciences and the various technological media to manage commercial activity.

Simply defined, Electronic Commerce involves execution and management of commercial activities by converting data through the Internet or similar technological systems, in three basic ways:

-    Internet linkage and technological services.

-    The technological provision for these services.

-    Using the Internet to distribute services, commodities, and other previously non-technological activities.

Many people are confused between Electronic Business and Electronic Commerce on the one hand and the exploitation of technology in traditional commercial activities on the other. Generally speaking, Electronic Commerce involves the offering of goods and services via the Internet and carrying out marketing and sales over World Wide Web sites, as well as allowing electronic payments by credit cards or authorized bank account withdrawals. Electronic Commerce involves the   establishment of virtual retail shops or sales points on the Internet which are separate from other significant activities such as distribution, supply and trade agency in many commercial areas such as financial services, aviation services, transportation, cargo, etc.

 Electronic Commerce has been classified by the World Trade Organization (WTO), within the framework of the services concept, worldwide. As set forth in the WTO report issued on March 17, 1999, the provision of services by technological methods falls within the general agreement scope for trade in services, because the influencing factors on electronic provision of services are the same as traditional methods of influencing the services trade. The operations of providing service by technological methods are governed by the general trade agreement stipulations on services, which include transparency, internal organization, competition, payment or cash remittances, market access, and the national treatment thereof. The use of the term “Electronic Commerce” seems to be synonymous with “Electronic Business”, but this is a common mistake because “Electronic Business” is a wider-ranging and more comprehensive concept than “Electronic Commerce”.

 Electronic Business is based on the idea of the fulfillment of performance between two frameworks and extends to all administrative, productive, financial and service activities, and is not limited to the relation of a seller with a customer. Rather, it transcends to the relation of the business with its agents, employees and customers and the evaluation and control of work performance patterns. Within this framework, we find the electronic factory, electronic bank, electronic insurance company and the electronic government. In contrast, Electronic Commerce suggests a purely commercial activity concerned specifically with purchase and sale contracts, service calls, etc. within a technological environment.

In Saudi Arabia, Electronic Commerce is promoted by prudent leadership, under the presidency of the representative of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and the membership of a number of relevant sectors until this important activity can be fully utilized to serve the national economy. Recent studies have pointed out that the volume of Electronic Commerce in the Kingdom exceeded $3.28 Billion US during 2007 as a result of the proliferation of electronic commercial transactions and the rise of the number of the Internet users in the Kingdom now exceeding 3.5 million users (over 14% of the Kingdom’s population). More than 42% of the activators in Electronic Commerce in the Kingdom use credit cards, although more progress needs to be made to secure these transactions so citizens will have more confidence that their personal information on-line will not be subject to misuse by hackers.   With the recent enactment of the new information technology law, it is expected that growth in electronic transactions will expand, supported by the rise in the ratios of the Internet use in the business dealing, associated with this activity. Moreover, the Electronic Dealings Regulation, issued by the Royal Decree No. m/18 on 08/03/1428H, by the Council of Ministers Resolution No. 80 on 07/03/1428H, sets forth a clear framework for the protection of electronic business activity, stating in its fifth article, paragraph (1) as follows:

“The electronic dealings, records and signatures shall have their binding proof whereupon their validity and enforceability may not be disclaimed and its execution shall not be withheld, due to being made electronically – wholly or partly, provided that, such electronic dealings, records and signatures are to be made, in accordance with the terms stipulated therein in such regulation.”

The very same regulation also states in its ninth article, paragraph (3):

“The electronic dealing, electronic signature and electronic record shall be a considerable proof in dealings, and each one of one of them is original (unchanged since its foundation) unless otherwise takes place.”

And the tenth article further states:

(1)              It is possible to express the affirmation and acceptance through the Internet and the Contract shall be valid and enforceable, whenever made, pursuant to the provisions of this Regulation.

(2)              The Contract shall not forfeit its validity or enforceability, merely because it was made through one electronic record or more.

The new information technology law enacted in January 2008 contains 16 articles and provides penalties for those who use technology for terrorism, fraud, pornography, defamation, violation of religious values, and disregard of public etiquette.

For example, any person who runs a website that supports terrorist organizations can be sentenced to 10 years in prison and fines up to 5 Million Saudi Riyals upon conviction. Similarly, stealing another’s financial data or using technology to defame another carries up to a three year sentence and up to a 500,000SR fine. Those who encourage others to commit these crimes can receive the same punishment as those who committed them. This law is designed to support the government’s successful anti-terror campaign that has reduced the incidences of terrorist attacks in the Kingdom.

The most important challenges standing in the way of furthering electronic commercial activity consists of the non-availability of Internet service with the expected speed and cost in many commercial and residential regions in the Kingdom, and the dearth of persons with the necessary skills and expertise to use this new technology. Notwithstanding the slow progress in implementing Electronic Commerce in the Kingdom, there are substantial positive characteristics enjoyed by the Kingdom in terms of its geographical location and unfettered adoption of free enterprise based on the principle of fair competition, and availability of the telecommunications infrastructure. As more Saudi citizens are trained in technology, it is certain that the Kingdom will benefit greatly from embracing Electronic Commerce. The Internet has changed the way the world conducts trade and business, and recent developments by the Saudi government recognizes this development and seeks to create an environment that enthusiastically promotes the Kingdom’s infrastructure in Electronic Commerce.

The information industry has become the best evidence  for   technology to drive the economic process and support national income resources.   Referring to our present age as the Information Age is not really precise in that it suggests speed rather than efficiency.    As technology advances, the ease of doing business will become more efficient and transparent, but this will require a change in human behavior and investment work patterns in all fields of endeavor, not only in the administration field but also in banking activities, special financial accounts management, production operations, business affairs management, relations of businesses with their customers and agents, provision of services, marketing, and advertisement. These monumental changes will be seen as a direct consequence of high and advanced technology fundamental to the development of Electronic Commerce.

Generally speaking, the development process is characterized by an integrated social and civilized construction process by which the community seeks to present its identity. Such a process is based on collective participation, in all its phases, to realize optimum utilization from the development projects returns. This concept seeks to promote prosperity and welfare among its citizens and raise their living standards. These efforts are designed to bring about improved conditions for citizens. Ignoring this reality can result in the failure of many commercial developments, so it is incumbent upon developers to always be mindful of how their projects improve the lives of Saudi citizens.

The regime of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ben Abdul Aziz has been associated with the accomplishment of many considerable social and economic achievements, not the least of which are the giant economic cities and centers being constructed throughout the Kingdom. These planned economic cities will open new horizons and opportunities for Saudi citizens. In this respect, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirms that it expects the Kingdom economy to achieve a huge international growth rate, supported by the rise in the oil prices and growth in other non-oil sectors. This is being achieved as a result of governmental surpluses which are expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

The perceptive forward-looking attitude of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah involves the further development of non-oil income sources and establishing an industrial base in the cities to attract investment and workers. The training of qualified citizens to be employed in new highly skilled occupations is essential to realize this vision. Many of the Kingdom’s universities and colleges, most particularly the University of King Abdullah for Science & Technology, are on-board to provide the necessary training and education to accomplish this goal.

Although socially the Kingdom has limited experience with poverty, the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ben Abdul Aziz has undertaken the preparation of a comprehensive national strategy to treat this social phenomenon including the establishment of a fund to deal with poverty into which the government will contribute significantly. This fund seeks to help poor families through the provision of labor opportunities and by providing easy loans to form small business enterprises.

 Saudi women are also involved in this process   within the framework of generous Islamic values. Saudi women now represent the Kingdom in many delegations abroad and participate on Consultative Councils, some of the Chambers of Commerce & Industry Boards of Directors, and company Boards of Directors in the private sector. These achievements supplement existing female roles in the education, health, banking services, and social welfare fields.

In this brief review, there is no way we can detail all of the massive achievements and sublime reforms which have been accomplished in the regime of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ben Abdul Aziz. However, we do intend to discuss these in greater detail in future issues of Legal Review as time and circumstances permit. We appreciate your reading this publication.