Article 65 of the Saudi Antiquities Law
المادة 65 من نظام الآثار والمتاحف والتراث العمراني
The National Museum and the regional museums the Authority designates have boards of trustees, formed by the Board on the President's proposal, which propose the museum's operating programs and follow its affairs and activities.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
يكون للمتحف الوطني، ومتاحف المناطق التي تحددها الهيئة، مجالس أمناء يكوّنها المجلس بناءً على اقتراح من الرئيس، ويقترح مجلس الأمناء برامج تشغيل المتحف، ويتابع جميع شؤونه، وأنشطته العلمية المختلفة، ومجالات التعاون مع المتاحف الداخلية والخارجية، وذلك وفقاً للائحة المنظمة لذلك.
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 65 explained in plain English
This article regulates museum boards of trustees.
Museums covered:
- The National Museum.
- Regional museums that the Authority designates; not every regional museum necessarily has a board of trustees, only those the Authority designates.
Forming the board: it is formed by the Board, meaning the Authority's board of directors under Article 1, on the proposal of the President, meaning the President of the Authority.
Tasks of the board of trustees:
- Proposing the museum's operating programs.
- Following all the museum's affairs.
- Following its various scientific activities.
- Following fields of cooperation with domestic and foreign museums.
All of this is in accordance with the regulation governing it.
Note that, according to the text, the board of trustees' role is proposing and following up; the article does not say it takes final decisions on running the museum. It also does not set the number of its members, their qualities or the term of membership; these details are left to the regulation.
The article concerns the National Museum and the designated regional museums, and does not address private museums set up by individuals and companies. The idea of a board of trustees reflects involving people with expertise in following the work of the major public museums and developing their programs.
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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Frequently asked questions about Article 65 of the Saudi Antiquities Law
Who forms the board of trustees of the National Museum?
The Authority's board of directors forms it, on the proposal of the President of the Authority.
What are the tasks of a museum's board of trustees?
Proposing the museum's operating programs, and following all its affairs, its scientific activities and fields of cooperation with domestic and foreign museums, in accordance with the governing regulation.
Does every museum have a board of trustees?
The article provides for boards of trustees for the National Museum and for the regional museums that the Authority designates.
More articles on Museums and Their Licensing
- Article 20
The article creates the Antiquities, Museums and Urban Heritage Fund to spend on protecting antiquities, building museums and supporting the private sector, and sets its resources from revenues, compensation and donations.
1- ينشأ في الهيئة صندوق يسمى (صندوق الآثار والمتاحف والتراث العمراني)؛ للإنفاق منه على حماية الآثار، والتراث العمراني، والمحافظة عليها، وصيانتها، وعرضها، وتوظيف
- Article 30
The Commission may exchange duplicate movable antiquities, or those with similar specimens, with museums and scientific institutions inside and outside the Kingdom, and lend movable antiquities for display in international museums and exhibitions.
يجوز للهيئة تبادل الآثار المنقولة المكررة، أو التي لها نماذج مع المتاحف والمؤسسات العلمية الداخلية والخارجية، وكذلك إعارة الآثار المنقولة لعرضها في المتاحف والم
- Article 31
The Commission may accept movable antiquities offered to it as a gift or loan, and may keep or display them in the name of the person who offered them.
للهيئة قبول الآثار المنقولة التي تقدم إليها على سبيل الإهداء أو الإعارة، ولها أن تحفظها أو تعرضها باسم مقدمها.
- Article 56
Any person may establish a cultural, heritage, scientific or other museum as a cultural or investment project, after obtaining classification and a license from the Authority and the relevant bodies.
يجوز للشخص إنشاء متحف حضاري، أو تراثي، أو علمي، أو غير ذلك (كمشروع ثقافي، أو استثماري، أو كليهما) وذلك بعد الحصول على تصنيف وترخيص من الهيئة ومن الجهات ذات العل
- Article 57
Museums are classified into three categories (A), (B) and (C) according to the level of their displays and the variety of their activities; anything else is a private collection, and the regulations set the classification criteria.
تصنف المتاحف إلى ثلاث فئات: (أ) و(ب) و(ج) تبعاً لمستوى عروضها وتنوع نشاطاتها، وما عدا ذلك يعد (مجموعات خاصة)، وتحدد اللوائح معايير تصنيف المتاحف.
- Article 58
The Authority adopts a "Saudi Museum" logo granted to public and private museums, which passes with the museum if ownership transfers, and the regulations set the provisions on granting, suspending and revoking it.
تعتمد الهيئة شعاراً باسم (متحف سعودي) يمنح للمتاحف العامة والخاصة، وينتقل الشعار مع المتحف إذا انتقلت ملكيته، وتبين اللوائح الأحكام المتعلقة بمنح الشعار، وتعليق
The texts are reproduced from the official website of the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers for reference; where they differ, the officially published Arabic text prevails. This content is not legal advice.