Program Structure

In selecting, classifying, and defining the content of the program’s courses, specific considerations were taken into account to grant the program its uniqueness and distinction, while maintaining the fundamental structure commonly recognized for any bachelor’s program in law. These considerations are reflected as follows:

1. The program includes the essential core courses that any law or legal studies graduate must be familiar with.

2. The titles and descriptions of some traditional courses were revised to align with developments in legal science.

3. A number of new courses were introduced to provide the program with greater uniqueness and distinction, given the importance of these courses. This includes allocating a course on the international rules governing international trade (International Commercial Law), introducing a course on Intellectual Property, which focuses on copyright—a subject of increasing importance locally and internationally—and including a course on Insurance Law. This course does not only address the insurance contract, as is common in other programs, but also covers the overall legal regulation of insurance in the Kingdom, which has received significant legislative attention and now has a specialized and independent judicial framework. In addition, skill-based courses were introduced (see item six).

4. The content of all program courses was designed to keep pace with the legal and practical reality of the Kingdom and to reflect the major developments that have occurred recently. In recent years, the Kingdom has witnessed significant legislative and judicial developments (for example, the restructuring of courts and judicial institutions, and the reorganization, amendment, and development of their systems, in addition to the issuance of a very large number of laws over the past five years). The study plan of this program is distinguished by the fact that course content reflects the current Saudi legal reality in its legislative, judicial, and executive dimensions, making it unique compared to other bachelor’s law programs offered by public or private universities. This gives graduates a significant advantage when entering professional practice, as it enables them to quickly adapt to the requirements of work in various public and private sector activities.

5. In the final stages of study (the eleventh and twelfth levels), the program allows students to choose some of the courses they study according to their academic interests and preferences. These choices serve as preparation for the specialization stage represented by postgraduate studies. The options are intentionally limited (choosing one course out of two offered in each of the eleventh and twelfth levels) for practical considerations, ensuring a sufficient number of students in each elective course and facilitating the organization and delivery of these courses.

6. Skill-based courses were allocated to develop students’ personal abilities and skills in various legal fields, including a course on the Principles of Legal Drafting in its various forms and a course on the Principles of Scientific Research.

7. Care was taken in arranging and distributing courses across the different academic levels so that general courses precede specialized courses, ensuring a logical progression in study. This same logic was applied in determining prerequisite courses that must be completed before studying subsequent courses, ensuring academic coherence and methodological sequencing within the program, which will have positive effects on graduate outcomes (see the list of courses designated as prerequisites for other related courses).

8. Courses with Islamic jurisprudential content take two forms: purely Sharia-based courses, which are evident from the course titles themselves (Introduction to Islamic Jurisprudence, Family Law, Inheritance, Wills and Endowments, Principles of Jurisprudence). In addition, there are many courses whose content includes Sharia and jurisprudential rules, such as Contract Provisions, General Criminal Law, Special Criminal Law, Civil Liability (which includes rules of liability in Islamic jurisprudence), Real and Personal Securities, Zakat and Taxes, and Ownership and Property.

9. With the exception of courses of an international nature and the Sharia-based courses mentioned above, all other courses are dedicated to the study of laws issued in the Kingdom, particularly the basic laws (Constitutional Law), commercial laws (various Commercial Law courses), administrative laws (Administrative Law, Administrative Judiciary, Administrative Contracts), the Labor Law, as well as judicial and tax systems.

From the above, it is clear that the program reflects a balanced structure among the following groups of courses:

• A group of general core courses (Sharia-based and legal).

• A group of specialized courses covering various areas of specialization.

• A group of courses related to international law.

• A group of skill-based courses.

• A group of courses concerned with legal thought itself (Contemporary Legal Systems, History of Law, Criminology and Penology).