Sattam bin Khalid Law Firm defends and pleads in criminal cases and attends with its clients during evidence-gathering, investigation and before the criminal court, protecting the rights of accused persons and victims at every stage. Our office is in Jeddah.
The firm has handled more than 40 cases before the Criminal Court.
The criminal investigation officer hears the arrested person at once and, if there appears to be sufficient evidence, sends them with the report to the investigator within twenty-four hours.[1]
The investigator questions the arrested person within twenty-four hours and then orders detention or release. The accused may have an agent or lawyer, and the investigator may not separate the accused from the agent or lawyer present during the investigation.[1]
A detention order from the investigator may not exceed five days from arrest; it may be extended up to a total of forty days, then for periods of no more than thirty days each and not more than one hundred and eighty days in total from arrest, after which the accused must be referred to the competent court or released.[1]
In major crimes the accused must appear in person, without prejudice to the right to a defender; in other crimes the accused may appoint an agent or lawyer to present the defence.[1]
The period to object by appeal or review is thirty days; if no objection is filed in time the right lapses. The period for cassation before the Supreme Court is thirty days.[1]
Yes. Every accused person may use an agent or lawyer for their defence during investigation and trial (Article 4 of the Law of Criminal Procedure), and the investigator may not separate the accused from the lawyer present during the investigation (Article 70).[1]
A detained person must be told the reasons for the detention and has the right to contact a person of their choosing to inform them (Article 116).[1]
Five days on the investigator's order, extendable up to forty days from arrest, then for periods of no more than thirty days each up to one hundred and eighty days, after which the accused is referred to the competent court or released.
An arrested person may not be held for more than twenty-four hours without a written order from the investigator.[1]
An accused in a major crime who cannot afford a lawyer may ask the court to appoint one for their defence at the State's expense (Article 139).[1]
Thirty days to object by appeal or review; if no objection is filed in time the right lapses.
After pronouncing judgment the court sets a date, no more than ten days later, for collecting the copy of the judgment; if the party does not collect it, it is placed in the case file and that starts the period.[1]
The Judicial Costs Law does not apply to public criminal cases and related applications (Article 2).[2]
A lawyer's fees and how they are paid are set by agreement between lawyer and client (Article 26 of the Code of Law Practice); they vary with the type of case and the work involved.
Contact us with your situation for an estimate that fits it.[3]
Courts received 150,000 criminal cases in 2025.
Ministry of Justice (data reported by Saudi Gazette) · 2025Saudi Arabian courts received more than one million cases of all types in 2025.
Ministry of Justice (data reported by Saudi Gazette) · 2025Courts in the Kingdom held more than 2.3 million hearings during 2024, 98% of them remotely through the e-litigation service.
Saudi Press Agency (court performance statistics) · 2024This page is general information about Saudi law, not legal advice, and makes no promise of any outcome. Laws and regulations change; consult a lawyer before you act.
Contact us with a short outline of your situation and we will explain the appropriate legal step.
