Anti-Cybercrime legislation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: An analysis and evaluation of the KSA criminal procedure approach to cybercrime with reference to England and Wales

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is in danger of falling behind other nations in combatting cybercrime as it becomes more technologically sophisticated. This raises important questions over whether the difficulties faced reflect the state’s desired approach toward tackling cybercrime or the underlying nature of the criminal procedure in the KSA. The problem does not just relate to effectiveness but also raises the relevant question of whether the KSA’s approach toward the criminal procedure in dealing with cybercrime is fair. In answering these major questions, the thesis investigates the shortcomings and factors holding the KSA back from tackling cybercrime in procedural terms. Amongst the factors identified are the reliance on the Islamic Sharia and the KSA’s legislative frameworks, including the Basic Law of Governance 1992 (BLG) and the Criminal Procedure Law 2013 (CPL). Both of these features are crucial when evaluating the KSA’s response to cybercrime from a procedural perspective. It is generally possible to say that the KSA does not differentiate between the criminal procedure of cybercrime and Non-Cyber Crime (NCC), which impairs the effectiveness and fairness of its approach to the former. Even though the KSA claims to be modernising society through its strategic plan, Vision 2030, it continues to depend on the pre-modern traditions found within the teachings of the Islamic Sharia to deal with cyberspace, which is a late modern phenomenon. Besides identifying the factors which have led to deficiencies in the KSA’s approach toward the criminal procedure of cybercrime, the thesis focuses on the why the KSA criminal procedure of cybercrime remains indistinct from NCCs, even though it has passed multiple pieces of legislation which distinguish cybercrime from NCCs at the substantive level. Reforms will be suggested to produce more effective and fairer approaches to the criminal procedure that is applied to cybercrime, particularly in the light of lessons that can be gleaned from the experiences and legal accomplishments of England and Wales.