When applying for the Gateway program, I was asked to describe three ways in which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia differs from my home country – the UK – and a key difference I identified was the legal system. In the UK, the overarching aim of the legal system is to keep the legislative, judicial and executive functions distinct. However, in Saudi Arabia all of these functions are overseen by the King who has the exclusive power to pass laws. Whilst this contends with the separation of powers principle that so characteristically marks the UK, and many other Western legal systems, coming on the Gateway program allowed me to unravel this difference.

Power is undoubtedly concentrated, but a formal advisory body known as the Shura Council exists. Members of this Council examine reports and accordingly criticise or complement laws and policies, sending their recommendations to the King. The Council consists of 13 committees which correspond to important aspects of life in the Kingdom such as health and foreign affairs. Furthermore, the courts are always open to petition and this allows the population to reach leadership.

In 2013 the first women were appointed to the Council and we had the privilege of hearing from one of the ground-breaking women currently holding a position on the Council, Hoda Al-Helaissi. She gave an invaluable insight into the law and governance of the Kingdom by explaining the Saudi perspective, something which is rarely received in the West.

Talking on the extent to which legislation is driven by democratic process, she highlighted the inherent danger of processes such as elections which allow extremism, for example, to seize power and drive governance. On one understanding an undemocratic process can ‘protect’ against this and ensure a consistency and stability in governance. To an approach well-versed in liberalism and freedom this remains unfamiliar, but the opportunity to be able to hear this perspective is vital in forging better understandings.

Furthermore, the key take-away about legislation in the Kingdom is its dynamism. We heard that the mentality towards elections is expected to change along with revision of the guardianship laws, and the lifting of the driving ban is tangible evidence of this. Here, as everywhere, exists the debate regarding effective implementation. For some in the Kingdom, gradual change to law and policy, following the pace of on-the-ground social evolution, is needed. They stress that tradition must be respected and the boundaries of the legal exercise must be set in advance, so as to not unwittingly and irreversibly go past them. However, others feel fears of instability are overemphasised and reference the relatively smooth transition to a society in which women drive, something which previously seemed an impossibility. For them the legal exercise should be pioneering and forceful. It remains to be seen which will predominate, but what cannot be disputed is that legislative change is happening.

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Hi, I’m Saloni and I graduated from the University of Oxford with a degree in Law. Prior to the programme my knowledge of the region was relatively limited and given my desire to learn about different cultures and hear other perspectives, I was very excited to be given this unique opportunity to have an insight into Saudi Arabia. The programme exceeded my expectations, hearing *from* people rather than hearing about them is so important. In particular, it’s been so heartening to meet and speak with women in the Kingdom, recognise their immense accomplishments and hear abo