On 21 February 2025, Saudi Arabia’s Official Gazette (Umm Al-Qura) published the Implementing Regulations of the Personal Status Law, supplementing the Personal Status Law (PSL) codified in March 2022. The PSL governs personal and family matters, including marriage, divorce, guardianship, and custody. Approved by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, this 41-article regulation aims to enhance legal clarity, family stability, and individual rights. By curtailing male guardianship regulations, restricting forced marriages, and strengthening women’s rights in divorce and custody, these new regulations build upon previous reforms. While these changes indicate an ongoing development of the Kingdom’s legal system, their practical impact remains to be assessed. Many provisions still rely on court discretion, raising questions about how they will be interpreted and implemented by the judiciary. The reforms align with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 agenda of legal modernisation and women’s empowerment, yet questions persist concerning the degree to which they constitute a structural shift in gender relations versus a state-led approach to reform.
Redefining Guardianship
Saudi Arabia’s longstanding male guardianship system (Nizam Al-Wilayah) has historically limited women’s legal autonomy. Entrenched in traditional conservative socio-cultural norms, this system vested male guardians with legal authority over the personal decisions of the women in their family. While the codification of the Personal Status Law in 2022 introduced significant reforms and restrictions on this system, the guardian’s consent remained required in multiple areas, including the woman’s marital decisions and her divorce. Building on these reforms, certain provisions under Saudi Arabia’s Implementing Regulations of the PSL entail further limitations on male guardianship.
Articles 12-15 of the new PSL regulations address the matter of ‘Adhl (unjust marital prevention). Traditionally, a woman’s guardianship was automatically transferred from her previous guardian to her husband upon marriage. Under these new regulations, if a male guardian is proven negligent or unjust, Article 15 grants the woman the right to seek the transfer of guardianship to a more eligible guardian. Additionally, Article 12 allows the woman to seek the transfer of guardianship without the need for a marital suitor present in court, or even in the absence of a prospective suitor. These provisions streamline legal procedures, ensuring that when an eligible suitor comes forward, he is not deterred by complex guardianship proceedings. Furthermore, if the guardian’s ineligibility extends to his other female dependents, Article 13 grants them the ability to request his transferral as well.
However, one provision presents an internal contradiction. While the law recognises the guardian’s unjust actions by allowing his transferral, Article 14 allows him to oversee a marital contact, if the woman consents. This provision raises inquiries regarding its practical implications – why would a woman choose to involve an unjust guardian in her marital decisions, and why is he still afforded a role in this legal process? Some might argue that this is a cautious approach aimed at maintaining social continuity, while others might perceive it as the law’s hesitation to abolish the guardianship system. Moreover, considering ongoing dependence on judicial discretion, the degree to which these reforms will substantively enhance women’s legal autonomy is still unclear.
Expanding Legal Rights in Divorce and Custody
Beyond male guardianship reforms, the new Implementing Regulations of the Personal Status Law introduce new provisions aimed at enhancing legal rights and protections for women in matters of divorce. The three permissible methods of divorce under Saudi family law include: talaq (the husband’s unilateral tool for divorce), khul’ (the wife’s request for divorce, contingent on her husband’s consent), and faskh (marital termination by judicial decree).
Article 26 of the PSL’s implementing regulations affirms that a wife’s right to request faskh and petition the court to annul her marital contract does not lapse because of her omission in making the request at an earlier stage. Moreover, Article 28 allows the judiciary to enact faskh and dissolve the marital contract upon the wife’s request if she expresses an inability to satisfy her marital obligations, in cases where the husband refuses to grant her a divorce or khul’. However, the provision asserts that the wife must return the mahr (dowry) received from her husband in this case. Nonetheless, this regulation expands the judiciary’s authority in marital termination, marking a significant departure from the traditional dominance of the husband in such matters.
Saudi Arabia’s family law framework incorporates Islamic teachings that emphasise the reconciliation between spouses and mandate that the wife return her dowry to her husband if she initiates a divorce or khul’. However, the newly enacted PSL regulations introduce vital distinctions. Notably, Section 1 of Article 30 stipulates that if arbitrators fail to reconcile the spouses and the husband is solely at fault for the marital breakdown, they must recommend a separation without requiring the wife to provide material compensation. Conversely, Section 2 of the same article mandates that if the failure is attributed to the wife, she must return her dowry. Even so, the first section of the article provides women greater autonomy in seeking spousal separation by removing the financial burden in cases where the husband is at fault.
Furthermore, while the 2022 PSL arguably lacked clarity in defining a reasonable threshold for proving harm sufficient to terminate a marital contract, the 2025 regulations provide additional methods to establish harm. Article 27 considers testimony based on commonly acknowledged public reports within the couple’s social sphere as an adequate means to prove harm, while firmly rejecting such testimony for negating harm. This provision strengthens the evidentiary framework for the court’s termination of abusive marital relations, allowing the court to intervene and shield women from potential continued abuse.
Finally, the PSL regulations introduce a new provision regarding child custody rights. Article 33 stipulates that if a child has not reached the age of two, custody remains with the mother, even if she remarries someone unrelated to the child. This regulation prioritises the child’s well-being by emphasising the mother’s role as the primary caregiver during infancy. The regulation further enhances legal clarity regarding the mother’s child custody rights.
Balancing Tradition and Modernisation
Although the PSL regulations introduce notable legal improvements, they equally reflect broader considerations regarding Saudi Arabia’s continuous legal modernisation. Scholars like Asifa Quraishi-Landes (2008) and Amira Sonbol (1996) have analysed how legal reforms in sharia-based legal systems often reflect evolving socio-political interests rather than priorities around legal pluralism or enhancing women’s rights. In Saudi Arabia, these reforms align with Vision 2030’s broader objectives, including economic diversification and legal clarity. While some have cautiously welcomed these changes as a step towards evolving women’s legal autonomy, others note that judicial discretion remains a central factor in their implementation. As the Kingdom’s legal system continues to evolve, further discourse on how these reforms shape Personal Status Laws in practice is crucial to understand their full impact on women’s rights.
Conclusion
The new legal rights and protections for women introduced under Saudi Arabia’s ‘Implementing Regulations of the Personal Status Law’ represents a continued effort to build upon the reforms introduced under the 2022 codification. By further restricting male guardianship involvement in women’s marital decisions and offering women expanded legal rights in divorce and custody, these regulations aim to enhance Saudi women’s legal protection and independence. Moreover, the reforms present a formalised set of regulations, which intends to improve legal clarity, in alignment with broader Vision 2030 goals of legal modernisation. While certain provisions under these reforms still rely on judicial prerogative, creating uncertainty for women under the PSL, their practical application must be seen in order to assess the degree to which they grant women stronger legal protection.
