Saudi ministry of justice: 315% increase in licenses granted to lawyers

The number of practicing lawyers in Saudi Arabia has increase by 315% in seven years, the Ministry of Justice announced on Wednesday.

The number of licenses granted to lawyers in 2023 was 15,936, up from 3,844 in 2016, according to ministry official, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The ministry said 3,844 licenses were granted to female lawyers, sharply up from the 102 accreditations issued seven years earlier.

The judicial sector in the Kingdom has witnessed rapid overhaul in recent years, including the approval by Justice Minister Walid Al-Samaani of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Lawyers, enhancing the principles of transparency and allowing foreign law firms to provide consultancy services pertaining to Saudi laws.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US, Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud, cited the increasingly important role Saudi women lawyers play in the Kingdom’s transformation.

Tweeting on the occasion of International Law Day on Wednesday, she wrote: “The legal field is just one of the many sectors where women are excelling in the Kingdom under #Vision_2030.”

A leader in business innovation and champion of women empowerment, Princess Reema was plucked from her post as deputy minister at the General Entertainment Authority to take office as ambassador to the US in early 2019, becoming the first female envoy in the Kingdom’s history.