SAUDI ARABIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Omar Alrasheed, Ghaleb Alqahtany, Muaath Al-Marashi and Hussam Al-Ghamdi, Omar Alrasheed Law Firm
Summary Judgments Summary judgments are rendered in cases that require urgent decision and intervention by a court of law. Under this type of judgment, courts do not decide the substantive matters but the urgent matter at stake, which requires an urgent intervention by courts of law, which include: • cases requiring inspection to determine the present condition; • cases to prevent interference with possession or facilitate the recovery of possession; and • cases to preserve testimony of a witness whose testimony is at risk of being unavailable at the time of the dispute. Enforcement Judgments Enforcement judgments are decisions made by the enforcement court to compel a debtor to satisfy a debt after the debtor fails to comply and satisfy the debt voluntarily. 2.2 Enforcement of Domestic Judgments Upon the debtor’s failure to comply or disclose any property that is sufficient to satisfy the debt owed within the five-day period, the enforcement court will order the actions provided in 1.1 Options to Identify Another Party’s Asset Position , against the debtor. Accordingly, the following are the available options to An attachment order targets every asset owned by the debtor and invalidates any action taken by the debtor with respect to the attached assets. However, several kinds of assets are exempted from attachment, as long as they are not pledged to the creditor(s), which include: • (i) the residence of the debtor and his/her depend - ants; • (ii) the debtor’s necessary means of transportation; • (iii) the debtor’s personal items; • (iv) every tool the debtor needs to practise his/her profession; and • (v) the debtor’s salary, except 50% of the salary and/or wage in alimony cases, and one-third of the total salary in other debts. enforce the judgment. Attachment of Property
The enforcement judge has the authority to determine the adequacy of the debtor’s needs with respect to subjects under (i), (ii) and (iii) above. Sale of Attached Property As governed under Chapter Two of the Enforcement Law, the debtor’s attached property will be offered at an auction. The auction arranged must meet several requirements: • the auction commencement must be in the pres - ence of the enforcement officer; • no person may participate or be admitted to the auction unless qualified based on the arrange - ments set forth by the Ministry of Justice and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, to ensure par - ticipants’ financial competence and method of payment; and • in any case, the attached property must not be sold for less than the reserve price. Garnishment The garnishment method extends to cover a debtor’s funds held by financial institutions, as well as credit accounts, investment accounts, insurance claims, companies’ shares, securities, negotiable instruments, and any other property deposited in safe deposit box - es. Furthermore, this method includes debts owed by a third party to the debtor. Insolvency Upon the debtor’s failure to satisfy the debt(s) owed and claim insolvency, the enforcement court, after completing all procedures relating to disclosure of property, questioning and tracking property, and after publishing an announcement in one or more newspa - pers containing the grounds for the filed insolvency, will verify the claim of insolvency. After establishing insolvency, the enforcement court will order compe - tent authorities to attach any property the debtor may receive. Also, if the creditor discovers any property owned by the insolvent debtor, the creditor may pre - sent the same enforcement document to the court. 2.3 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce Domestic Judgments The costs and time taken to enforce a domestic judg - ment vary depending on several factors, including the
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