ALTERNATIVE PUNISHMENTS TO INCARCERATION IN THE SHARIA CRIMINAL LAW: THE APPLICABILITY OF THOSE ALTERNATIVES IN THE SAUDI ARABIAN CRIMINAL LAW FOR PERSONS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

In 2008, Saudi Arabia signed and ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Convention, CRPD), an international treaty that addresses matters related to persons with disabilities (PWD). Article 12(2) of the CRPD requires State Parties to “recognize that persons with disabilities enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others in all aspects of life.” Saudi Arabian domestic laws, which are in accordance with the Sharia, differentiate between two different types of legal capacity: the legal capacity to act and the legal capacity of rights. This distinction does not de facto violate the Convention; however, persons with intellectual disabilities (PWID) face a number of challenges due to the understating of the term legal capacity. This dissertation studies the effects of preventing PWID from enjoying their full legal capacity without supervision to determine whether Saudi Arabia should change its guardianship laws and the underlying domestic perspectives that ultimately isolate PWID. This dissertation does not resolve the challenges with how Saudi Arabia view disability, but rather calls to adopt the supported decision-making approach that allows PWID to enjoy their capacity to act and is in accordance with Saudi national laws.