Article 17 of the Saudi Alimony Fund Statute

This is a closing article that specifies when the Alimony Fund Statute begins to apply.

The ruling: the Statute takes effect 90 days after the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

Application of the Statute therefore does not begin on its issuance or on its publication alone, but after a 90-day period from publication. This period allows preparation for applying the Statute before it takes effect.

Relationship to Article 16: Article 16 provides that the Board issues the Regulations within 90 days of the date the Statute was issued. The Regulations period therefore starts from issuance, and the entry-into-force period starts from publication.

The article does not state the actual date of publication, so the day the Statute begins to apply cannot be determined from its text alone.

The importance of this article for anyone dealing with the Fund is that it fixes the moment the Statute's provisions begin to apply, and they can be relied on in dealing with the Fund from then. Anyone with a question about the Statute's application to their case would be well advised to consult a lawyer specializing in personal status.