Editorial policy
This policy was last updated on .
At Qanoon we write plain-language legal content that helps people understand Saudi laws and their rights before they speak to a lawyer. This page explains how that content is prepared, what we check, where its limits are, and how to tell us about a mistake.
1. Who writes our content
Content is prepared by the platform's editorial team. We use AI models (Anthropic's Claude models) to write first drafts, to translate into English and for some automated checks. We never present an AI draft as official text, and each page makes clear what kind of content it is:
- Official law text is copied from its government source without changes.
- Explanations, examples and FAQs are editorial content we write with AI assistance; they are not part of the law.
- Lawyer answers in the Q&A are written by lawyers who hold a listing in the directory, and appear under their names.
- Editorial answers appear under the «Qanoon editorial team» byline and are prepared by the platform team.
2. Laws and explanations
Laws and their regulations are taken from the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers (laws.boe.gov.sa). Every article in the law library links to its official source and shows its amendment history.
- Amended articles: we build the wording in force by merging the official amendment texts into the original. AI is used for this merge on the condition that it keeps to the official wording; the result is then measured automatically for word-for-word agreement with the official texts. Only near-complete matches are accepted automatically — the rest go to our content team. Each article states where its text comes from: original text, wording merged from amendments, or text verified by the team.
- Plain-language explanations: AI writes the draft explanation, example and FAQs; a second, independent model assesses it, and figures in it are checked against the article text. Some explanations were approved one by one by our content team (and may be edited or rejected); others were published after passing the automated checks without an individual human review. When a named reviewer has reviewed an explanation, their name, role and the review date appear beneath it.
- Editorial notes: when something in an article's text needs flagging (such as an ambiguity in the source) we add an «editorial note» clearly separate from the official text, and never change the text itself.
- English pages: the law itself stays in Arabic as issued. English explanations are translated from the Arabic explanation with AI assistance; the official Arabic text prevails.
3. Legal Q&A
- Visitor questions are screened automatically before publication, and personal data (names, ID, phone and case numbers) is removed. Anything that needs human judgement goes to the content team before it is published; anything that breaks the publishing rules is rejected.
- Lawyer answers come from lawyers with an active listing in the directory and show the lawyer's name and verification status. Answers pass an automated check, and the content team can edit or hide any answer. Answers are ordered by best answer, then the answerer's verification, then "helpful" votes and the answering badges a lawyer earns through activity — never by paid plan.
- Common questions and editorial answers were prepared by the platform team with AI assistance and appear under «Qanoon editorial team» as a «general editorial answer». They don't replace a lawyer's answer about your case, and any verified lawyer can add their own answer.
4. Contract templates
The contract templates are a library the platform team has built since launch, drafted to be consistent with Saudi regulations. AI was used to build the fill-in forms of the contract builder and the English versions. Templates are a starting point for guidance only: the right wording depends on each case, and we recommend a lawyer review any important contract before you sign. When a named reviewer has reviewed a template, their name and the review date appear on its page.
5. Review and reviewers
We are working to have licensed lawyers review our most-used content. When a named person reviews a template, a law explanation or an editorial answer, the page shows "Reviewed by" with their name, professional title, licence number and issuing body (when provided) and the review date. We never show this line on content that person has not actually reviewed, and never name a reviewer without their consent.
6. Sources
- Laws and regulations: the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers (laws.boe.gov.sa).
- Lawyer licences: the Ministry of Justice's Najiz portal, which is where we check licence numbers.
- Government procedures and services: the official websites of the ministries and authorities concerned.
We never rely on forums or unofficial websites as the source of a legal text.
7. Updates
When a law in the library is amended we fetch it again from the official source; articles whose text changed go back through merging and review, and the amendment and its date appear in the article's history. This is followed up by the team by hand, not automatically, so a very recent amendment may take time to appear — the official source linked on every article is always the reference. We revisit explanations, templates and editorial answers when the laws behind them change or when someone reports a problem.
8. Reporting and correcting errors
If you find a mistake in a law text, an explanation, a template or an answer:
- On law-article pages: use the «report an error» form below the article; it goes straight to our helpdesk.
- Anywhere else: write to us through the contact page or at info@qanoon.app, with the page link and where the error is.
We look at every report. If the error is confirmed we correct it, and where a correction touches the meaning of a legal text we add an editorial note saying so. See also the help center.
9. Independence from ads and plans
- Neither advertising nor lawyers' paid plans affect law texts, explanations, contract templates or editorial answers, or the order of answers in the Q&A.
- In the lawyer directory, paid plans give a higher position in results, and offices at the top appear on a «Featured office» card (this space also includes offices shown free of charge in a periodic rotation). The same ordering is used for the lawyer lists shown next to content.
- Ads appear in spaces separate from the content, carry the word «Advertisement», and their links are marked as sponsored.
- A listing in the directory, or next to content, is not a recommendation. The platform keeps a 25% commission only on paid consultations booked through the site.
10. Lawyer verification
The «Verified» badge means the lawyer submitted their licence number (with an image of their Ministry of Justice licence when they attached one), and our team checked the number on the Najiz portal before approving it. Linking an office email or website to a listing lets its owner manage the listing but does not give the badge. Always check a lawyer's licence yourself on the Ministry of Justice portal before engaging them.
11. The AI assistant «Adam»
«Adam» (آدم) is an automated assistant running on an Anthropic AI model that helps you find the site's pages and services. Its limits:
- It is not a lawyer and gives no legal advice. It does not quote article texts or numbers, fees, deadlines or penalties itself; it points you to library and lawyer pages.
- It takes site information (lawyers, templates, pages) from search tools on the site itself, and may suggest platform services such as booking, signing up or plans.
- Don't share personal data with it. Messages are processed by Anthropic outside the Kingdom and are not used to train models; conversations are stored with personal data masked and without IP address for 90 days, then deleted, and only the platform administrator can read them. Details are in the privacy policy.
- There is a daily message limit per visitor.
12. Not legal advice
Everything on the platform — explanations, templates and answers — is general legal information for awareness. It is not legal advice and does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Outcomes depend on the facts and documents, so consult a licensed lawyer about your situation before acting. Use of the content is subject to the terms & conditions.
More about the platform: About us.