Saudi Arabia Ministerial Decision No. 3453/1442 On the Code of Professional Conduct for Lawyers and the Amendment of the Implementing Regulation of the Legal Profession Act issued the first code of conduct governing the legal profession in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Prior to the issuance of Saudi Arabia Ministerial Decision No. 3453/1442, the profession was mainly governed by Saudi Arabia Royal Decree No. M38/1422 Related to the Law on Legal Practice (Saudi Arabia Cabinet Decision No. 199/1422 on the Approval of the Law of Legal Practice), which did not include detailed ethical provisions; therefore, lawyers previously practiced the profession based on professional customs and general Sharia principles. In that context, the primary purpose of  Saudi Arabia Ministerial Decision No. 3453/1442 is to unify all lawyers' ethical provisions in a single statute, and focuses on:

• elevating the legal profession and its standards;

• outlining lawyers’ legal obligations and clarifying their responsibilities towards their clients, colleagues, judicial authorities, and society;

• expanding the scope of statutory protection available to lawyers, their clients, and other related parties;

• enhancing the principles of transparency and responsibility in lawyers' professional practices; and