SAUDI ARABIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Zeyad Khoshaim, Abdullah Alajlan, Kamil Mehiz and Sarah Sedky, K&A
through Riyadh International Disputes Week (RIDW), which was successfully held for the third time in Feb - ruary 2026 (RIDW26). RIDW26 featured several notable institutional devel - opments. The SCCA partnered with Jus Mundi to inte - grate Jus AI capabilities into its case management system, and signed an agreement with Professor Gary B Born, in collaboration with Kluwer Arbitration, to translate International Arbitration : Law and Practice into Arabic. It also launched its dedicated research centre, SADEED Research and Legal Development. Together, these initiatives underline the SCCA’s com - mitment not only to administering arbitration in line with international best practices but also to advancing arbitration knowledge, infrastructure and professional capacity in Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Alongside the SCCA, the Saudi Sports Arbitration Centre (SSAC) continues to gain traction as the King - dom’s specialist institution for sports-related disputes, reflecting Saudi Arabia’s growing investment in the sports sector, particularly football. The SSAC has strengthened its institutional profile through a memo - randum of understanding with the Gulf Sports Arbi - tration Authority to enhance co-operation and knowl - edge-sharing, as well as by expanding its roster to include leading sports arbitration specialists, including CAS-listed arbitrators. Its board has also approved a framework for classifying arbitrators and assess - ing their performance. These developments highlight the SSAC’s ongoing efforts to enhance the quality, credibility and efficiency of sports arbitration in the Kingdom. 1.4 National Courts There is no single court designated for all matters arising from arbitration agreements. Instead, the appeal court that would have had jurisdiction without an arbitration agreement will handle disputes related to both international and domestic arbitrations (eg, the Appeal Labour Court for labour disputes and the Appeal Commercial Court for commercial disputes). For international commercial arbitration conducted within the Kingdom or abroad, Article 7 (2) of the Saudi Arbitration Law, issued under Royal Decree No
(M/34) dated 24/05/1433H (16 April 2012), specifies that the territorial jurisdiction would be for the relevant Court of Appeal in Riyadh, unless the parties agree on another Court of Appeal within the Kingdom. Typically, the Commercial Court, particularly its appeal circuits, handles most arbitration cases, as most arbitrations arise from commercial relationships. However, there are specialised courts dedicated to enforcement actions related to arbitral awards. The Enforcement Law, introduced by Royal Decree No M/53 dated 13/8/1433H (3 July 2012) (the “Enforce - ment Law”), marked a substantial shift in Saudi Ara - bia’s arbitration landscape by transferring enforce - ment proceedings from the Saudi Board of Grievances (BoG) to specialised enforcement courts. At the date of this publication, arbitration in the King - dom of Saudi Arabia is governed by the Arbitration Law, established by Royal Decree No M/34 dated 24/05/1433H (16 April 2012), which took effect on 8 July 2012, and its Implementing Regulations dated 22 May 2017 (the “Implementing Regulations”). The Arbitration Law is based on the UNICTRAL Model Law. The most notable difference between the Saudi Arbitration Law and the UNCITRAL Model Law is that the Saudi law includes references to Shari’ah princi - ples, specifically in Articles 5, 14, 25, 38, 50 and 55. 2.2 Changes to National Law There have been no enacted changes to the Saudi Arbitration Law itself in the past year. However, two recent developments are expected to impact the arbi - tration landscape in the Kingdom. 2. Governing Legislation 2.1 Governing Law First, Saudi Arabia has issued a new Enforcement Law under Royal Decree No M/237 dated 3/11/1447H (20 April 2026) (the “New Enforcement Law”). The law has not yet taken effect and will enter into force on or around 29 October 2026. Once in force, it will replace the current Enforcement Law and introduce a more comprehensive enforcement framework, including clearer rules on enforcement instruments, foreign
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