Article 72 of the Saudi Anti-Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Law

المادة 72 من نظام مكافحة المخدرات والمؤثرات العقلية

The article provides that a judgment imposing the penalties in the Anti-Narcotics Law does not prejudice what is a lawful right of third parties.

Official text (Arabic)

This article has not been amended since the law was issued.

لا يمس الحكم بالعقوبات المنصوص عليها في هذا النظام ما يكون حقا مشروعا للغير

This is the official Arabic wording, the only legally binding version. We do not translate the law itself; the explanation below is ours. Official source: Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers

Article 72 explained in plain English

This article lays down a rule protecting the rights of third parties, meaning persons who are not party to the offense, providing that a judgment imposing the penalties set out in the Anti-Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Law does not prejudice what is a lawful right of others.

This means that the penalty falls on the person who committed the offense, and imposing it must not prejudice a lawful right of another person. The importance of this rule is seen especially with financial penalties; Article 1 defines confiscation as transferring items or funds, or part of them, to state ownership by court judgment, because they are connected to an offense provided for in the Law or derived from it, and these items or funds may be connected with the rights of other persons.

The important qualification in the text is that the right must be lawful; the article does not protect every claim of a right, only a lawful right. The article does not specify how this right is proved or the procedures for claiming it.

This article comes among the final provisions, alongside Article 71, which makes the tables attached to the Law an integral part of it, and Article 73, which repeals the previous law.

Anyone who believes a judgment issued in a drug case has affected a lawful right of his should consult a lawyer specialized in criminal and drug cases to assess his position.

Practical example

A person rented a car from a rental company in Riyadh and used it to transport narcotics, and a judgment imposing a penalty was then issued against him. This article provides that a judgment imposing the penalties does not prejudice what is a lawful right of others, and a lawyer should be consulted to assess the company's lawful right in the car and how to claim it.

Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.

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