The response of the Saudi Criminal Law in the Wake of the Corona Virus Pandemic (Covid-19)

Alagha, Samah

doi:10.21608/ijdjl.2021.60510.1054

The response of the Saudi Criminal Law in the Wake of the Corona Virus Pandemic (Covid-19)

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Samah Alagha

Dar Al-Hekma University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

10.21608/ijdjl.2021.60510.1054

Abstract

At the end of 2019, a new dangerous and contagious disease emerged in the city of Wuhan, China. It has spread throughout the world at a very fast pace. The Coronavirus pandemic has profound impacts on the society and the economy. Therefore, countries endeavor to minimize the severe impacts of this crisis. However, since public health and criminal law are inevitably linked, the purpose of this paper is to explore the response of the criminal law toward the pandemic of coronavirus in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Especially since the deficiency of the criminal legal system has been proven in countries that witnessed a significant increase in infections with the Coronavirus without any pause, and in countries that witnessed large waves of infections after they had greatly decreased. This study applies the qualitative research represented in the descriptive and analytical method. The study found out that since the Saudi criminal law is derived from Islamic Shariah, it has been flexible and adaptable to the confrontation of coronavirus pandemic by criminalizing and penalizing all acts of deliberate transmission of coronavirus and all violations of the precautionary measures issued by the competent authorities. Finally, the study concludes with some recommendations with regards to making the Saudi criminal law more effective in the fight against coronavirus.

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