SAUDI ARABIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Andreas Haberbeck, Derayah LLPC
100 camels, with personal injury liability prorated with reference to this ceiling. From time to time and from location to location, the value of 100 camels has been expressed in monetary equivalent. The current standard applicable in Saudi Arabia was laid down by Royal Order No 43108 of 3 Shawwal 1432 Hejra, corresponding to 1 September 2011, at SAR300,000. Punitive damages are not awarded by Saudi Arabi- an courts. It remains to be seen to what extent the courts will award damages for lost profits, which has become possible under the Civil Transactions Regula- tion, 2023. 9.3 Pre-Judgment and Post-Judgment Interest The Saudi Arabian courts do not award interest in any form. 9.4 Enforcement Mechanisms of a Domestic Judgment Under the Enforcement Regulation, Royal Decree No. M/53 of 13 Sha’ban 1433 Hejra, corresponding to 14 July 2012, applications for the enforcement of judg- ments are lodged with enforcement judges, who have wide-ranging powers, including the power to summon a judgment debtor’s bankers and accountants. If a defendant fails to satisfy a judgment, their access to government services may be cancelled and their bank accounts are likely to be frozen. Travel bans are not uncommon, and in extreme cases, an uncooperative judgment debtor may be imprisoned. The Enforcement Regulation, 2012, excludes prop- erty owned by the State, which extends to shares in corporations. This has been rectified by the Board of Grievances Enforcement Regulation, Royal Decree No M/15 of 27 Muharram 1443 Hejra, corresponding to 4 September 2021, which has established the Admin- istrative Enforcement Court. The Court became operational on 20 August 2023 and has the power to enforce judgments and arbitration awards against or in favour of government agencies and state-owned property. If a government agency confirms that it has taken all necessary steps to satisfy
an execution order issued by the Court and that non- payment is attributable to the Ministry of Finance, an execution order must be issued against the Ministry of Finance. The Board of Grievances Enforcement Regulation of 2021 empowers the Administrative Enforcement Court to imprison public servants for up to seven years and/ or impose fines for frustrating or delaying the enforce- ment of judgments. 9.5 Enforcement of a Judgment From a Foreign Country The only international treaties on the reciprocal enforcement of judgments to which Saudi Arabia is a party are the Arab League Treaty on the Enforce- ment of Judgments signed at Riyadh on 16 April 1983, which superseded the Arab League Treaty on the Enforcement of Judgments dated 14 September 1952, and the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council Conven- tion on the Enforcement of Judgments of 6 December 1995. However, a foreign judgment can be enforced in Saudi Arabia if the applicant demonstrates that the country where the judgment was issued will accord reciprocal treatment to Saudi Arabian judgments. Until 14 February 2013, the Board of Grievances, the tribunal with general jurisdiction over most categories of commercial and administrative disputes, had exclu- sive jurisdiction to hear applications for the enforce- ment of foreign judgments and arbitration awards. Since the enactment of the 2012 Enforcement Regu- lation, applications for the enforcement of foreign judgments must be submitted to enforcement judges. In a 1992 judgment, the Board of Grievances ruled that a judgment of the English High Court of Justice was not enforceable in Saudi Arabia on the basis of reciprocity. The Board of Grievances ruled that the only judgments that are enforceable in Saudi Arabia on the basis of reciprocity are judgments of coun- tries who are party to a treaty or convention for the reciprocal enforcement of judgments to which Saudi Arabia is also a party, or whose authorities would give executive force to judgments of the courts of Saudi
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