SAUDI ARABIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Zeyad Khoshaim, Abdullah Alajlan, Kamil Mehiz and Sarah Sedky, K&A
• must have full legal capacity; • demonstrate good conduct, and have a reputable standing; and • hold at least a university degree in Shari’ah or law – however, if the arbitral tribunal consists of more than one arbitrator, this educational requirement applies only to the chairperson of the tribunal. 4.2 Default Procedures Under Article 15 of the Saudi Arbitration Law, if the parties cannot agree on the selection of arbitrators, a default procedure is applied. For a tribunal with one arbitrator, the competent court (refer to 1.4 National Courts ) appoints the arbitrator within 30 days of receiving a request from one of the parties. In a tribunal with three arbitrators, each party selects one arbitrator, and these two then appoint the chair - person (or president). If a party fails to appoint their arbitrator within 15 days or if the two appointed arbi - trators cannot agree on the chairperson within 15 days, the competent court will appoint the chairper - son within 15 days upon receiving a petition from a party requesting to expedite the arbitration. This pro - cedure also applies to tribunals with more than three arbitrators. Additionally, if the parties fail to agree on appointment procedures or if procedural failures occur, the compe - tent court will intervene to take necessary measures unless the arbitration agreement specifies alternative methods. When appointing an arbitrator, the compe - tent court must adhere to the conditions specified in the arbitration agreement and meet the requirements outlined in Article 14 of the Saudi Arbitration Law. The decision of the competent court appointing the arbi - trator is not subject to appeal. 4.3 Court Intervention Please refer to 4.2 Default Procedures . 4.4 Challenge and Removal of Arbitrators Under Article 16 of the Saudi Arbitration Law, the grounds for challenging an arbitrator include several key factors. An arbitrator must have no vested interest in the dispute and must disclose any circumstances
that might raise justifiable doubts about their impar - tiality or independence, both at the time of appoint - ment and throughout the arbitration proceedings. Additionally, an arbitrator is barred from considering or hearing a case for reasons like those that bar a judge, even if neither party requests it. Under Article 94 of the Saudi Law of Civil Procedure, these grounds include where the arbitrator: • is the spouse, relative or in-law up to the fourth degree of a party; • has, or whose spouse has, an existing dispute with a party or that party’s spouse; • is an agent, guardian, trustee or potential heir of a party, or is connected by marriage or kinship up to the fourth degree to a party’s guardian or trustee; • has, or whose spouse or relevant relative has, an interest in the case; or • has previously given a fatwa (an Islamic legal opin - ion given on a point of Shari’ah) or published an opinion on the dispute, acted for a party, consid - ered the case as a judge, expert or arbitrator, testi - fied in the case, or participated in any investigative action relating to it. The Arbitration Law also specifies additional grounds for challenging an arbitrator, including: • the presence of circumstances that create justifi - able doubts about their impartiality or independ - ence; • if the arbitrator lacks the qualifications agreed upon by the parties; and • if the arbitrator lacks the legal requirements to be appointed as arbitrator (see 4.1 Limits on Selec- tion ). Furthermore, a party cannot challenge an arbitrator they appointed or participated in appointing, except for reasons that became known after the arbitrator’s appointment. The parties to the arbitration can agree on the proce - dures for challenging arbitrators. However, if no pro - cedure is agreed, the procedure highlighted in Article 17 of the Saudi Arbitration Law will apply.
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