Article 47 of the Saudi Arbitration Law
المادة 47 من نظام التحكيم · الفصل: في الدعوى التحكيمية
The article gives the tribunal power to correct purely clerical or arithmetical errors in its award within 15 days, and allows the correction decision to be challenged as void if it exceeds that power.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
1- تتولى هيئة التحكيم تصحيح ما يقع في حكمها من أخطاء مادية بحتة كتابيةً أو حسابيةً، وذلك بقرار تصدره من تلقاء نفسها، أو بناءً على طلب أحد الخصوم. وتجري هيئة التحكيم التصحيح من غير مرافعة خلال خمسة عشر يوماً التالية لتاريخ صدور الحكم، أو لإيداع طلب التصحيح بحسب الأحوال.
2- يصدر قرار التصحيح كتابةً من هيئة التحكيم، ويبلغ إلى طرفي التحكيم خلال خمسة عشر يوماً من تاريخ صدوره. وإذا تجاوزت هيئة التحكيم سلطتها في التصحيح جاز التمسك ببطلان هذا القرار بدعوى بطلان تسري عليها أحكام المادتين (الخمسين) ، (والحادية والخمسين) من هذا النظام.
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 47 explained in plain English
This article deals with simple errors that may occur in writing the arbitral award, such as a mistake in a number or a name, without touching the substance of what it decided.
- Scope of correction: Purely material errors, whether clerical or arithmetical.
- Who initiates? The tribunal on its own initiative, or at the request of one of the parties.
- Method and period of correction: The tribunal carries it out without a hearing within the 15 days following the date the award was issued, or the date the request for correction was filed, as the case may be.
- The correction decision: It is issued in writing and notified to the parties within 15 days of the date it was issued.
- Exceeding power: If the tribunal exceeds its power in correcting, it is possible to invoke the nullity of the correction decision by an action for nullity governed by the provisions of Articles 50 and 51 of the Law.
The difference between this article and Article 46 is that interpretation concerns an ambiguity in the operative part of the award, whereas correction concerns an obvious material error. The difference between it and Article 48 is that an additional award deals with requests submitted during the proceedings that the award omitted.
Anyone who believes that a correction decision changed the substance of the award would do well to consult a lawyer who specializes in arbitration and commercial cases.
Practical example
An arbitral award obliged an establishment in Madinah to pay the total of three invoices, but the total written in the award did not match the sum of the invoices mentioned in it. The tribunal may correct this arithmetical error on its own initiative or at the request of one of the parties, without a hearing, within the period set in the article.
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 47 of the Saudi Arbitration Law
Can an arithmetical error in an arbitral award be corrected?
Yes. The arbitral tribunal corrects purely clerical or arithmetical errors on its own initiative or at the request of one of the parties.
What is the period for correcting an arbitral award?
The tribunal carries out the correction within the 15 days following the date the award was issued or the correction request was filed, as the case may be.
What if the arbitral tribunal changes the award under the pretext of correction?
If the tribunal exceeds its power in correcting, it is possible to invoke the nullity of the correction decision by an action for nullity governed by Articles 50 and 51.
Articles this article refers to
- Article 50Amended by M/21
The article exhaustively lists the grounds on which an action to annul an arbitral award is accepted, what the competent court rules of its own motion, and the limits of its review.
1- لا تقبل دعوى بطلان حكم التحكيم إلا في الأحوال الآتية: أ - إذا لم يوجد اتفاق تحكيم أو كان هذا الاتفاق باطلاً، أو قابلاً للإبطال، أو سقط بانتهاء مدته. ب- إذا ك
- Article 51
The article sets the period for an action to annul an arbitral award at 60 days from notification of the award, and the effect and challengeability of the court's judgment, whether upholding or annulling the award.
1- ترفع دعوى بطلان حكم التحكيم من أي من طرفيه خلال الستين يوماً التالية لتاريخ إبلاغ ذلك الطرف بالحكم. ولا يحول تنازل مدعي البطلان عن حقه في رفعها قبل صدور حكم
More articles on The Arbitral Award
- Article 38
The article sets the rules the tribunal applies to the subject of the dispute, without contravening Islamic Sharia or public order, and allows an award by conciliation if it is expressly authorized.
1- مع مراعاة عدم مخالفة أحكام الشريعة الإسلامية والنظام العام بالمملكة، على هيئة التحكيم أثناء نظر النزاع الآتي: أ - تطبيق القواعد التي يتفق عليها طرفا التحكيم
- Article 39
The article regulates how the tribunal issues its award by majority after secret deliberation, the choice of a casting arbitrator when no majority is possible, and procedural decisions and interim and partial awards.
1- يصدر حكم هيئة التحكيم المشكلة من أكثر من محكم واحد بأغلبية أعضائها بعد مداولة سرية. 2- إذا تشعبت آراء هيئة التحكيم ولم يكن ممكناً حصول الأغلبية فلهيئة التحكي
- Article 40
The article sets the period for issuing the award ending the dispute (as agreed by the parties, or twelve months), the possibility of extending it, and what the parties may do when it passes.
1- على هيئة التحكيم إصدار الحكم المنهي للخصومة كلها خلال الميعاد الذي اتفق عليه طرفا التحكيم، فإن لم يكن هناك اتفاق وجب أن يصدر الحكم خلال اثني عشر شهراً من تار
- Article 41
The article sets when arbitration proceedings end, provides that they do not end on the death or loss of capacity of a party, and that the tribunal's mission ends when the proceedings end.
1- تنتهي إجراءات التحكيم بصدور الحكم المنهي للخصومة، أو بصدور قرار من هيئة التحكيم بإنهاء الإجراءات في الأحوال الآتية: أ - إذا اتفق طرفا التحكيم على إنهاء التحك
- Article 42
The article requires the arbitral award to be written, reasoned and signed by the arbitrators or a majority of them, and lists the details it must contain.
1- يصدر حكم التحكيم كتابة ويكون مسبباً، ويوقعه المحكمون، وفي حالة تشكيل هيئة التحكيم من أكثر من محكم واحد يُكتفى بتوقيعات أغلبية المحكمين بشرط أن يثبت في محضر ا
- Article 43
The article requires each party to be given a true copy of the award within 15 days of its issuance, and prohibits publishing the award or any part of it without the written consent of both parties.
1- تُسلّم هيئة التحكيم إلى كل من طرفي التحكيم صورة طبق الأصل من حكم التحكيم خلال خمسة عشر يوماً من تاريخ صدوره. 2- لا يجوز نشر حكم التحكيم أو جزء منه إلا بموافق
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.