SAUDI ARABIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Omar Alrasheed, Ghaleb Alqahtany, Muaath Al-Marashi and Hussam Al-Ghamdi, Omar Alrasheed Law Firm
2. Attaching/Submitting Required Documents An applicant for the enforcement of a foreign judg - ment must present several documents that are essen - tial for the application to be reviewed. These docu - ments include: • identification document(s) of the creditor(s); • authenticated delegation/power of attorney (if the application is being filed by representatives or attorneys of the creditor(s)), including each per - son’s identification document; • an official copy of the foreign judgment; • an attestation stating that the foreign judgment has become final and enforceable, and that a compe - tent judicial agency issued the foreign judgment; and • a certified copy of the judgment notice, or any other evidence establishing that the defendant received due and proper notice of the proceedings, if the judgment was rendered in absentia. 3. Review and Verification After the filing of the enforcement application, the enforcement court will review the application and either accept the application, return the application to the applicant to reattach required documents or provide further documents/information, or reject the application. 4. Enforcement Procedure Upon accepting the enforcement application, the enforcement court will start the enforcement process, starting with notifying the debtor to disclose and sat - isfy the debt owed within five days from the notifi - cation date. In case of the debtor’s failure to satisfy the debt within the designated period, compulsory enforcement measures will be initiated, starting with a disclosure order issued by the enforcement judge to all relevant governmental agencies. 3.5 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce Foreign Judgments Similar to the costs and time taken with respect to enforcing a domestic judgment, the costs and time taken to enforce a foreign judgment vary depending on several factors, such as the nature of the debt, the amount owed and the nature of the debtor, as well as the nature of the foreign judgment and the verification
process of the enforcement court to ensure the foreign judgment sought to be enforced meets all the require - ments set forth by law. 3.6 Challenging Enforcement of Foreign Judgments In addition to disputing the form and the substance aspects, as described in 2.5 Challenging Enforce- ment of Domestic Judgments , and assuming the foreign judgment sought to be enforced has already met all the requirements imposed by law, a defendant may challenge any conflicts that the foreign judgment might have with respect to the Kingdom of Saudi Ara - bia’s public order (Sharia provisions), for example, if a foreign judgment holds that the defendant owed the plaintiff an amount of money, some of which is interest applied to the original debt. Even though the law of the forum in which the judgment was rendered approves such a transaction, the defendant may argue the ille - gality of the applied interest, as it conflicts with Sharia provisions. 4. Arbitral Awards 4.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Arbitral Awards The legal issues concerning the enforcement of arbi - tral awards vary depending on whether the arbitral award sought to be enforced was a domestic or a foreign award. If it is a domestic arbitral award, it is recognised by law. However, if it is a foreign arbitral award, then the requirements set out in 3.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Foreign Judg- ments must be met, after the enforcement judge veri - fies the reciprocity element. Upon meeting all recog - nition and enforceability elements, a foreign arbitral award can be enforced in the Kingdom, as long as the debtor does not challenge the enforcement of the arbitral award. 4.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Arbitral Awards The approach to enforcing an arbitral award varies based on whether the arbitral award sought to be enforced in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a domes - tic or a foreign arbitral award.
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