SAUDI ARABIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Zeyad Khoshaim, Abdullah Alajlan, Kamil Mehiz and Sarah Sedky, K&A
11. Review of an Award 11.1 Grounds for Appeal
an Arabic translation certified by an accredited translator. These provisions ensure that arbitral awards in Saudi Arabia adhere to clear guidelines and are delivered within a specified timeframe, providing a structured Arbitral tribunals in Saudi Arabia have broad authority to grant various types of remedies, including declara - tory relief, specific performance, and monetary com - pensation for actual damages proven and suffered. However, there are no specific limits on these rem - edies except those related to Shari’ah and public policy. Arbitral tribunals cannot issue punitive damages, nor can they award interest, as these are strictly prohib - ited under Shari’ah. 10.3 Recovering Interest and Legal Costs Interest is strictly prohibited under Shari’ah law, so parties cannot recover interest through arbitration pro - ceedings. If an arbitral tribunal awards interest, the Saudi courts may annul the award, either wholly or partially (depending on how the award is drafted). Typically, costs are allocated based on the outcome of the case (ie, they follow the event), unless the parties agree otherwise. The arbitral tribunal may also order the losing party to compensate the winning party for incurred attorneys’ fees. process for dispute resolution. 10.2 Types of Remedies Under the SCCA framework, the arbitral tribunal can determine and allocate arbitration costs in its award. This includes the arbitrator’s fees and costs, the par - ties’ legal representation costs and fees as well as other related expenses. The arbitral tribunal can dis - tribute these costs among the parties at its discretion based on what it considers reasonable, taking into account factors such as each party’s conduct and efforts to manage costs efficiently (Article 40 (1) of the 2023 SCCA Rules).
Arbitral awards cannot be appealed before Saudi courts. Instead, they can only be contested by filing an action to nullify the award within 60 days from the date of its notification to the parties (Article 51 (1) of the Saudi Arbitration Law). If a Saudi court issues a judgment annulling an arbitral award, this decision can be appealed to the Saudi Supreme Court within 30 days of notification, as per Article 51 of the Saudi Arbi - tration Law and Article 17 of its Implementing Regula - tions. Conversely, a judgment rejecting an annulment action is final and not subject to appeal. The Saudi Arbitration Law provides an exhaustive list of grounds for annulling an arbitral award. Under Arti - cle 50 of the Saudi Arbitration Law, an award will only be annulled if: • there is no arbitration agreement, or if it was void or voidable or its duration had lapsed; • either party to the arbitration agreement was, at the time of the conclusion of the arbitration agreement, fully or partially incapacitated, according to the law governing said person’s legal capacity; • either party to the arbitration was unable to present its case due to not receiving proper notice of the arbitrator’s appointment or the arbitral proceed - ings, or for any other reason beyond the party’s control; • the arbitral award excluded the application of any rules agreed upon by the parties that ought to gov - ern the subject matter of the dispute; • the composition of the arbitral tribunal or the appointment of arbitrators was carried out in a manner that conflicts with the Saudi Arbitration Law or the parties’ agreement; • the arbitral award ruled on matters not included in the arbitration agreement or exceeded the limits of that agreement – however, if the issues within the scope of the arbitration can be separated from those not included, the annulment will only affect the latter parts; or • the arbitral tribunal fails to meet the necessary conditions for the award, thereby affecting its sub - stance, or if the award is based on void arbitration proceedings.
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