KSA Courts Open The Door To Moral Damages

Any award of compensation given by the courts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia must comply with Shari'ah principles. Shari'ah principles on compensation generally require the loss which is being compensated to be a direct result of the harm (as opposed to an indirect loss), and for the loss to be readily quantifiable. Due to this, compensation for more intangible harm arising from an incident, such as psychological suffering, mental anguish or traumatic shock (sometimes known as "moral damages"), has rarely been awarded by the KSA courts.

However, a trend has emerged recently within the KSA courts where the courts have been prepared to consider and, in some cases, award moral damages.