SAUDI ARABIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Andreas Haberbeck, Derayah LLPC
Courts), the Commercial Courts and the Labour Courts are under the administration of the Min- istry of Justice. Among the other specialised tribunals (whose names mostly explain their scope of jurisdiction) are: • the Administrative Court, also known as the Board of Grievances, which has exclusive jurisdiction over disputes to which the gov- ernment or government agencies are party; • the Committee for the Resolution of Securi- ties Disputes, which deals with disputes falling within the ambit of the Capital Markets Regulation and its Implementing Rules; • the Committee for Banking Disputes; and • the Committee for the Settlement of Insur- ance Disputes. Recent Amendments to the Law The last ten years have seen considerable change to the administration of justice in Saudi Arabia, which was initiated under the Judiciary Regulation, Royal Decree No M/78 of 19 Ram- adan 1428 Hejra, corresponding to 1 October 2007. The Board of Grievances used to have jurisdiction in commercial disputes, which was transferred to the newly formed Commercial Courts in October 2017, at the same time wid- ening the definition of commercial disputes to include intellectual property disputes. Labour disputes used to be administered by the Minis- try of Labour’s Commission for the Settlement of Labour Disputes, whose jurisdiction was trans- ferred to new Labour Courts in October 2018. The enforcement of judgments has been reformed, as has the enforcement of arbitration. The procedures of the Commercial Courts were overhauled by the Commercial Courts Regula- tion, Royal Decree No M/93 of 15 Sha’ban 1441
Hejra, corresponding to 8 April 2020, which entered into force on 16 June 2020. Rules of evidence were consolidated with the Evidence Regulation, Royal Decree No M/43 of 26 Jumada Awwal 1443 Hejra, corresponding to 30 December 2021, which entered into force on 6 July 2022. A major recent change of law is the creation of the Administrative Enforcement Court under the Board of Grievances Enforcement Regulation, Royal Decree No M/15 of 27 Muharram 1443 Hejra, corresponding to 4 September 2021. The Court became operational on 20 August 2023 and has the power to enforce judgments and arbitration awards against or in favour of govern- ment agencies. If a government agency confirms that it has tak- en all necessary steps to satisfy an execution order issued by the court and that non-payment is attributable to the Ministry of Finance, an exe- cution order must be issued against the Ministry of Finance. The Board of Grievances Enforce- ment Regulation, 2021, gives the Administrative Enforcement Court the power to imprison for up to seven years and/or fine public servants who frustrate or delay enforcement of judgments. 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings Since early 2020, most filings and proceedings before Saudi Arabian courts and tribunals take place online. Physical hearings before the courts are open to the public, while proceedings before statutory tribunals tend to be on camera. Under the Commercial Courts Regulation, 2020, public access to the particulars of a commercial case and the documents filed in it is possible upon payment of a fee, but a party with an inter-
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