SAUDI ARABIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Andreas Haberbeck, Derayah LLPC
change their respective arguments at any stage of the proceedings. In between hearings there are normally inter- vals of several weeks, depending on the rele- vant court’s caseload. There is no limit on how many submissions may be filed in the course of proceedings. It is common for both parties to exhaust their respective arguments before their submissions are closed. 7.2 Case Management Hearings There are no case management hearings or simi- There are no jury trials in Saudi Arabia. 7.4 Rules That Govern Admission of Evidence Most commercial cases proceed on documen- tary evidence alone. A party or its employees or agents are not treated as witnesses and their statements have no evidential value. Witnesses must be independent and the general standard of proof is the evidence of two male Muslims of good character, or one male and two females. One important feature of Saudi Arabian law of evidence concerns the taking of an oath. If the claimant has failed to prove their case conclu- sively through witnesses or documentary evi- dence, they may challenge the defendant to deny their liability on oath. If the defendant accepts the challenge and denies the claim on oath, the case is closed with only limited means of appeal. The defend- ant also has the option to refuse to take the oath and instead request the claimant to confirm their claim. Should the claimant refuse, the case is dismissed. In situations where the claimant has lar proceedings in Saudi Arabia. 7.3 Jury Trials in Civil Cases
produced evidence which is inconclusive, the court may ask them to swear a supplementary oath to confirm their rights. If the claimant takes the oath, judgment must be entered in their favour. Because of the extreme religious significance attached to demanding and taking an oath, the right to challenge a party was not frequently invoked in the past, but, in recent years, chal- lenges to take an oath have become more com- mon. In the past, a company’s chairman could be compelled to take the oath on behalf of the company. Since 2020 a request to take an oath may not be directed at a body corporate. 7.5 Expert Testimony The parties to Saudi Arabian legal proceed- ings are free to introduce expert evidence into the proceedings. Where technical or complex financial issues are raised, it is common for the judges to appoint an expert or experts as advis- ers to the tribunal. It is within the tribunal’s discretion whom it appoints as an expert and to accept or disregard all or part of the expert’s findings, but, ordinar- ily, the determination of technical or complex financial issues falls to the expert. The Evidence Regulation, 2021, sets out detailed rules govern- ing expert evidence. 7.6 Extent to Which Hearings Are Open to the Public See 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings . 7.7 Level of Intervention by a Judge Saudi Arabian proceedings are inquisitorial in nature and the judge has full conduct of the proceedings, including the questioning of wit- nesses. A judge may raise issues that neither party has raised.
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