The Normalization of Saudi Law

“Chibli Mallat is the leading theoretician, indeed the founder, of a field of study on Middle East law. In The Normalization of Saudi Law, Professor Mallat turns his attention, with great erudition and brilliance, to the evolution of law in Saudi Arabia and finds, within a multitude of recent judicial rulings on contracts, property, the family, and the prosecution of crimes, the beginnings of a system of law. Always clear-eyed, Mallat fully appreciates that the absolutism of the Saudi monarchy and its failure to empower a national legislative assembly compromise whatever commitment to the rule of law that country possesses.” -Owen Fiss, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law at Yale University “The Normalization of Saudi Law contains an illuminating discussion of the laws of Saudi Arabia. There is a masterly treatment of the fields of substantive Saudi law drawing from an analysis of civil, criminal, family, real property and commercial law. One novel feature is that Chibli Mallat discusses how Saudi judges apply the law in practice by reference to reported cases. It is of significance to legal scholars and practitioners alike and a welcome first of its kind.” -Michael Crystal QC “The Normalization of Saudi Law reveals an unprecedented field of work, that of Saudi law, based on the study of thousands of judgments. It facilitates an understanding of the current developments towards a “normalization” of Saudi law and shows, through the courts' application of justice, how Saudi society actually functions. It is an essential book, not only for the study of law, but for understanding present-day Saudi Arabia.” -Professor Henry Laurens, College de France