The Application of Shari'ah and International Human Rights Law in Saudi Arabia

298 Pages·2013·1.86 MB·English

The Application of Shari’ah and International Human
Rights Law in Saudi Arabia

A dissertation submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

by
Abdulaziz S. Al-Rodiman

School of Law, Brunel University

April 2013
Dedication

This dissertation is dedicated to my beloved parents and my family.

I
Abstract

The present dissertation provides an analytical and comparative study of the application
of Islamic law (Shari’ah) and international human rights law in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It
provides an analysis of the sources of Islamic law as well as the sources of international law to
set the background for analysis and defines the nature of both laws. It also tackles the subject of
the domestic application of international human treaties in Saudi Arabia.
In addition, it examines some reservations Saudi Arabia has entered to some of the
international human rights treaties it has ratified, specifically the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of
the Child (CRC). It also sheds some light on the political, cultural and religious obstacles to the
realisation of norms protected by international human rights treaties in the country, and in other
countries for that matter, clearly stating the impossibility of implementing the provisions of the
international human rights treaties in their entirety. This is due to the various political and legal
developments towards the internationalization of the concept of human rights. It observes that
despite the existence of the international human rights treaties, which aim at reinforcing a
universal realisation of international human rights, these rights cannot be possibly realised by all
countries.
To stress the importance Saudi Arabia attaches to the issue of human rights, the
dissertation discusses some rights of women before Saudi courts in family matters, an issue
which has been criticised by some international human rights treaties, and examines to what
extent the country has managed to tackle the issue of domestic violence, particularly violence
against women. It provides an overview of the major causes of domestic violence against women
in Saudi Arabia, presents some cases of domestic violence before Saudi courts and sheds some
II
light on the measures taken by the Saudi government to combat domestic violence against
women. It also tackles this issue both in the international and domestic legal frameworks, clearly
stating the Islamic standpoint on the issue, namely that Islamic law, and Saudi Arabia for that
matter, whose laws are essentially derived from the two main sources of Shari’ah. It also
discusses the common forms of violence against women in Saudi Arabia and suggests a number
of recommendations towards more effective protection of women against violence in the
country.
The dissertation concludes by presenting a number of obstacles in the way of executing
judicial decisions in the Kingdom as well as the obstacles which negatively affect the
performance of the new code of law practice. It also presents some recommendations concerning
personal status law obstacles and hindrances to progress and attempts to answer the research
questions it has posed.

III
Acknowledgments
It is a pleasure to thank those who made this dissertation possible. First of all, I am
indebted to Almighty Allah who has provided me with all the assistance I needed.
My thanks also go to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King ‘Abdullah bin
‘Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud, who issued his royal order for me to complete my post-graduate studies
and for his unfailing support of the judiciary in the Kingdom.
I am heartily thankful to His Royal Highness Dr. Bandar ibn Salman Al Saud, Advisor to
King ‘Abdullah and Chief of the Saudi Arbitration Team, for his support and encouragement.
I am also grateful to the President of the Supreme Judicial Council, the Minister of
Justice and Chairman of the Board of Grievances, for their encouragement and invaluable ideas
during the discussion which I held with them while the research was in preparation.
My thanks also go to all my judicial colleagues in the General Court, the Criminal Court,
the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court for their cooperation and assistance and for
supplying me with the important judicial cases which I included in my research.
I also owe my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Manisuli Ssenyonjo, whose
encouragement, guidance and support from the initial to the final level enabled me to develop an
understanding of the subject.
Lastly, I offer my regards and blessings to all of those who supported me in any respect
during the completion of the project.

IV
Table of Contents

Dedication ........................................................................................................................................ I
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... II
Acknowledgments......................................................................................................................... IV
List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................... IX
Glossary ........................................................................................................................................ XI
List of International Instruments ................................................................................................ XVI
List of Cases .............................................................................................................................. XVII
Chapter I: General Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1
2. Research Objective ..................................................................................................................... 7
3. Research Questions ..................................................................................................................... 8
4. Challenges ................................................................................................................................... 8
5. Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 9
Chapter II: The Sources of the Saudi Islamic Law (Shari’ah) and International Law ................... 1
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1
2. Islamic Law in Saudi Arabia and Its Sources ............................................................................. 2
2. Sources of Islamic Law ............................................................................................................... 5
2.1 Primary Sources ............................................................................................................... 5
2.1.1 The Qur’an ................................................................................................................ 5
2.1.2 Sunnah (The Prophet’s Tradition) ............................................................................. 7
2.2 Secondary Sources ......................................................................................................... 11
2.2.1 Ijma’ (Consensus) ................................................................................................... 11
2.2.2 Qiyas (Analogical Reasoning) ................................................................................ 14
2.2.3 Istihsan (Jurists’ Preference) ................................................................................... 16
2.2.4 Istis-hab (Presumption of Continuity) .................................................................... 18
2.2.5 ‘Urf (Custom)......................................................................................................... 19
3. Sources of International Law ................................................................................................... 20
3.1 Primary Sources of International Law ........................................................................... 20
3.1.1 International Custom ............................................................................................... 20
3.1.2 Treaties .................................................................................................................... 22
V
3.1.3 The General Principles of Law Recognised by the Community of Nations ........... 24
3.2 Secondary Sources of International Law ....................................................................... 26
3.2.1 Judicial Decisions ................................................................................................... 26
3.2.2 Soft Law .................................................................................................................. 27
3.2.3 Writers ..................................................................................................................... 29
4. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 31
Chapter III: Domestic Application of International Human Rights Treaties in Saudi Arabia ..... 35
1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 35
2. Application of International Human Rights Treaties in Saudi Arabia ..................................... 36
3. Saudi Arabia’s Reservations to International Human Rights Treaties ..................................... 41
3.1 Definition and Nature of Reservations ........................................................................... 41
3.2 Saudi Arabia’s Reservations to the CEDAW ................................................................. 46
3.2.1 Saudi Arabia’s General Reservation to the CEDAW .............................................. 46
3.2.2 Saudi Arabia’s Specific Reservation to Article 9(2) of the CEDAW ...................... 53
3.3 Saudi Arabia’s Reservations to the CRC ....................................................................... 57
4. Obstacles to the Realisation of Norms Protected by International Human Rights Treaties in
Saudi Arabia .................................................................................................................................. 64
4.1 Political Obstacles .......................................................................................................... 65
4.2 Cultural Obstacles .......................................................................................................... 67
4.3 Religious Obstacles ........................................................................................................ 70
5. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 72
Chapter IV: Rights of Women before Saudi Courts in Family Matters ....................................... 76
1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 76
2. The Protection of Women’s Right to Equality in Shari’ah ...................................................... 76
2.1 The Protection of Women’s Rights in Saudi Arabia’s Basic Law ................................. 81
3. Marriage and Family relations ................................................................................................. 88
3.1 Marriage ......................................................................................................................... 88
3.1.1 Consent to Marriage ................................................................................................ 93
3.1.2 Marriage without Consent....................................................................................... 95
3.1.3 The Question of Marriage Guardianship ................................................................ 97
3.1.4 A Case of Abusing Marriage Guardianship ............................................................ 99
3.1.5 A Case of ‘Adhl (Preventing Women under Guardianship from Marriage) ......... 101
3.2 Polygamy under Shari’ah............................................................................................. 102
3.3 Divorce ......................................................................................................................... 106
3.3.1 Wife’s Right to Divorce a Husband (Khul’) ......................................................... 109
VI
3.3.2 Saudi Cases on Divorce ........................................................................................ 112
3.3.2.1 Khul’ as a result of a Woman’s Hatred of her Husband ............................................... 112
3.3.2.2 Annulment of Marriage without Compensation ........................................................... 113
3.3.2.3 A Woman Seeks to Annul the Marriage Contract as She does not Like her Husband . 115
3.3.2.4 A Woman Seeks Divorce from her Sterile Husband .................................................... 117
3.3.2.5 A Man Divorces his Wife in his Last Illness ................................................................ 119
3.3.2.6 A Woman Seeks Divorce from her Husband due to Long Absence (Desertion) ......... 121
3.3.2.7 Turning down a Lawsuit against Divorce ..................................................................... 122
3.3.2.8 Confirmation of a Divorce ............................................................................................ 123
3.4 Women’s Rights to Custody ........................................................................................ 124
3.4.1 A Judge Rules that a Husband Hands the Child over to his Mother..................... 129
3.4.2 A Judge Grants Custody of a Nine-Year-Old Female Child to the Father, Following
the Mother’s Marriage to Another Man .............................................................................. 130
3.5 Women’s Rights to Maintenance ................................................................................. 131
4. Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 133
Chapter V: Domestic Violence against Women in Saudi Arabia ................................................ 135
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 135
2. Defining Domestic Violence against Women ......................................................................... 135
3. The Problem of Domestic Violence against Women in Saudi Arabia ................................... 138
3.1. The Scope of Domestic Violence in Saudi Arabia ....................................................... 138
3.2. Forms of Domestic Violence against Women in Saudi Arabia ................................... 145
3.2.1. Physical Abuse/ Beating ....................................................................................... 149
3.2.2. Killing ................................................................................................................... 154
3.2.3. Psychological Abuse ............................................................................................. 156
3.2.4. Sexual Abuse ........................................................................................................ 157
3.2.5. Verbal Abuse ........................................................................................................ 158
3.2.6. Legal Abuse .......................................................................................................... 159
3.2.7. Economic Abuse ................................................................................................... 160
3.3. Domestic Violence against Women and Saudi Arabia’s Legal Obligations ................ 161
4. Major Causes of Domestic Violence against Women in Saudi Arabia ................................. 176
4.1. Religious Misinterpretation and Application of the Concept of Dharaba: Qur’anic
Verse 4:34 ............................................................................................................................... 182
4.2 Religious Misinterpretation and Application of the Concept of Mahram ................... 186
4.3 Cultural Beliefs and Practices ...................................................................................... 191
VII
4.4 Economic Problems...................................................................................................... 194
5. Combating Domestic Violence against Women in Saudi Arabia .......................................... 197
5.1 Education ...................................................................................................................... 199
5.2 Legislation .................................................................................................................... 200
5.3 Counselling and Awareness Programmes .................................................................... 205
5.4 Judicial Protection ........................................................................................................ 207
6. Conclusion: Towards More Effective Protection of Women against Domestic Violence in
Saudi Arabia............................................................................................................................ 210
Chapter VI: Conclusion and Recommendations ......................................................................... 214
1. Summary ................................................................................................................................ 214
2. Obstacles to Progress ............................................................................................................. 225
3. General Recommendations .................................................................................................... 229
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 233
Books ...................................................................................................................................... 233
Articles .................................................................................................................................... 252
Reports .................................................................................................................................... 259
Websites .................................................................................................................................. 261

VIII
List of Abbreviations
CAT Convention Against Torture

CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women

CERD Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

CESCR Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

CHRL Conventions of Human Rights Law

CIL Customary International Law

CPPCG Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child

GAUN The General Assembly of the United Nations

GCC Gulf Cooperation Council

GPL General Principles of Law

HRL Human Rights Law

HRW Human Rights Watch

ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights

ICJ International Court of Justice

ICPD International Conference on Population and Development

ILC International Law Commission

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