SAUDI ARABIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Zeyad Khoshaim, Abdullah Alajlan, Kamil Mehiz and Sarah Sedky, K&A
to 37 outline the framework for requesting and pro - ducing documents as follows. Article 34 Under this article, a litigant may request the court to order an opposing party to produce documents in any of the following instances: • where the law allows such a request; • where the document is a joint document that serves mutual interests or establishes reciprocal obligations and rights; and • where the opposing party relies on the document at any stage of the case. The request must include: • a detailed description and content of the docu - ment; • evidence indicating that the document is in the opposing party’s possession; and • the facts which the document will be used to evi - dence, and the grounds for the production of the document. Article 35 If the opposing party acknowledges possession or remains silent, or if the applicant adequately substan - tiates their request, the court will order production of the document. If the opposing party abstains from producing the document after being granted one grace period, the document copy provided by the applicant will be considered a true copy. However, if the applicant did not have a copy, the court will accept the applicant’s words on the description and content of such docu - ment. If the defending party denies that the document exists and the applicant fails to provide sufficient evidence to support their claim, the applicant may request the court to order the opposing party to take an oath regarding the document. Article 36 In commercial lawsuits, a litigant may request docu - ment production if:
• the document is specified or identifiable; • it is relevant to the lawsuit or reveals facts pertinent to it; • it is not confidential or protected by trade secrets under the law or pursuant to the parties’ agree - ment; or • refusal to comply with the court’s order may be deemed presumptive evidence of the document’s relevance. Article 37 The court can: • order a third party to produce a document in their possession; and • request a public entity to provide a certified copy of a document if the litigant cannot produce it – the court may also seek verbal or written information from the public entity if permitted by law. 8.2 Rules of Evidence Unless the parties agree otherwise, the rules of evi - dence used in litigation will also apply to arbitration conducted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 8.3 Powers of Compulsion Under Saudi law, arbitral tribunals lack the coercive and executive powers of courts. However, they can request the assistance of the courts. Article 22 of the Saudi Arbitration Law empowers courts to assist arbi - trators with: • ordering provisional or precautionary measures before or during arbitration proceedings, upon request by either party or the arbitration tribunal; • issuing orders of judicial delegation upon request by the arbitration tribunal; and • assisting with arbitration proceedings, such as summoning witnesses or experts, ordering the submission or review of documents, or other nec - essary actions. Arbitral tribunals can seek court assistance to com - pel the production of documents or the attendance of witnesses.
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