SAUDI ARABIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Omar Alrasheed, Ghaleb Alqahtany, Muaath Al-Marashi and Hussam Al-Ghamdi, Omar Alrasheed Law Firm
reciprocity. Furthermore, recognised foreign judg - ments sought to be enforced must meet the following legal requirements: • the Saudi Arabian courts have no jurisdiction to review the dispute in which the foreign court rendered the judgment, and the foreign court that rendered the judgment had jurisdiction over the dispute based on the international judicial jurisdic - tion rules in the issuing court’s country; • the parties to the case regarding which the foreign court rendered its judgment were summoned to appear, properly and duly represented, and had the right and opportunity to defend themselves; • the rendered judgment is final, according to the relevant laws of the issuing court; • the rendered judgment is not in conflict with any judgment or order rendered by a Saudi court in the same case; and • the foreign judgment is not in conflict with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s public order. (As defined in the Enforcement Law Implementing Regulations (Article 11/3), “public order” means the provisions of Sharia.) Besides the legal requirements mentioned above, which must be met in order to enforce a foreign judg - ment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the principle of reciprocity constitutes the pillar for the recognition of foreign judgments. In this respect, the Enforce - ment Law emphasises adherence to the international agreements and treaties the Kingdom has ratified. For example, the following are the conventions the Kingdom has ratified concerning the enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards: • the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (1958); • the Riyadh Arab Agreement for Judicial Coopera - tion (1983); and • the Gulf Cooperation Council Convention for the Execution of Judgments, Delegations, and Judicial Notifications (1996). 3.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Foreign Judgments The approach to enforcing foreign judgments var - ies depending on whether the foreign judgment was
issued in a country that is a member of an interna - tional treaty or agreement to which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a party. There are two approaches concerning the recognition and enforcement of for - eign judgments: • Reciprocity-based approach: As a matter of law, an enforcement judge is prohibited from enforc - ing any foreign judgment except on the basis of reciprocity. If the reciprocity element is not met, the foreign judgment shall not be recognised, and therefore shall not be enforced. • Convention-based approach: If the foreign judg - ment sought to be enforced in the Kingdom was issued by a court in a member state of a conven - tion that the Kingdom has ratified, then the judg - ment shall be recognised and therefore enforced, after the legal requirements provided in 3.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Foreign Judg- ments are met. 3.3 Categories of Foreign Judgments Not Enforced After being recognised, a foreign judgment is enforce - able as long as it meets the legal requirements described in 3.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforce- ment of Foreign Judgments . If one of the legal require - ments has not been met, the Kingdom’s enforcement courts will hold it unenforceable, for instance, if a for - eign judgment meets all the legal requirements but it conflicts with the Kingdom’s public order, either in full or in part. This is considered the most challenging aspect of seeking to enforce foreign judgments in the Kingdom. Further explanation is provided in 3.6 Chal- lenging Enforcement of Foreign Judgments . 3.4 Process of Enforcing Foreign Judgments The process of enforcing a foreign judgment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia includes the following. 1. Application Filing The first step for creditors seeking to enforce a foreign judgment is to file a request for enforcement with the enforcement court. This process can be completed through the Ministry of Justice portal (“Najiz”).
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