During the reign of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, now entering its second decade, Saudi Arabia’s judiciary has been reshaped by a sweeping digital transformation.
At the heart of the overhaul is the "Najiz" platform, which has emerged as the unified electronic gateway for all Ministry of Justice services, moving the justice system beyond physical courtrooms and into remote litigation through electronic filings and virtual hearings.
The Ministry of Justice has previously said Saudi courts held more than 2.3 million hearings in 2024, with 98 percent conducted remotely through electronic litigation services.
The system covers all litigation procedures that can be carried out electronically, including the exchange of pleadings, the submission of documents, the holding of hearings by video link, the issuance of judgments, the receipt of copies of rulings, and the filing of appeals.
The service shortens the duration of cases, accelerates adjudication, and allows litigants full access to case documents.
Najiz services
The Najiz platform includes four portals for individuals, businesses, lawyers, and government entities and offers more than 160 judicial services, sparing users the need to visit judicial facilities.
Services include filing lawsuits electronically, electronic litigation, requests for enforcement of judgments, and documentation services, such as marriage and divorce registration, issuance of powers of attorney, and amendments to real estate deeds. Litigants and their representatives can plead cases online through Najiz and respond to court requests without attending in person.
Saving 65 million visits
At the second International Justice Conference, held in Riyadh in November 2025, Deputy Minister of Justice Najm Al-Zaid said the Najiz platform had delivered more than 160 services and facilitated two million remote court sessions, saving beneficiaries an estimated 65 million visits to judicial facilities.
Services for inmates
In January 2025, the Ministry of Justice launched the “Inmate Services” initiative to develop judicial services. Media reports said the initiative enabled 300,000 remote video hearings for inmates in 2024.
Prisoners can attend hearings by audio and video without being transferred to court, receive or authenticate judgments electronically, and file appeals through Najiz. The ministry also established a dedicated "Inmate Services System" unit to coordinate these services.
Impact on justice and investment
Participants at the second International Justice Conference in November 2025 said digital transformation in the judiciary boosts transparency and speeds up rulings, making it an essential factor in attracting investment to the Kingdom.
Saudi courts began remote operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, during the suspension of in-person attendance, 10,897 judgments were issued remotely, enabled by electronic services provided through Najiz and a unified call center.
These indicators show the Saudi judiciary has achieved a qualitative leap toward digital justice. Najiz has consolidated most judicial services and electronic litigation into the norm rather than the exception, expanding to include inmates and people with disabilities. This has been reflected in the rising number of remote hearings and the saving of millions of court visits.
From oral to digital litigation
As part of reengineering justice to align with the requirements of a digital state, the reign of the King Salman bin Abdulaziz has seen major amendments to judicial regulations. Among the most significant was the 2021 amendment to Article 65 of the Law of Civil Procedure, establishing written pleadings as the default before courts after oral pleadings had previously been the norm.
Under the amendment, lawsuits, memoranda, defenses, and responses must be submitted in writing through official channels, and courts must grant litigants sufficient time to review and respond to case documents.
The shift was not merely procedural. It marked a move toward institutional digital justice, grounded in documentation, transparency, ease of archiving, and integration with electronic litigation platforms, such as Najiz, thereby enhancing both the speed of adjudication and the quality of judgments.
Faster justice and more reliable procedures
Meanwhile, judicial notification methods were expanded to include electronic notices via text messages and email.
This transformation has helped shorten litigation timelines, ensure faster and more reliable delivery of notices, and reduce case delays caused by failures of traditional notification methods.
The changes reflect the Saudi judiciary’s alignment with digital government concepts during King Salman’s reign. Justice is no longer tied to location or paper but has become an integrated, data-driven, technology-enabled system that reinforces the principle of “justice without delay” in the era of digital transformation.
