Article 51 of the Saudi Bankruptcy Law

المادة 51 من نظام الإفلاس · الفصل الرابع: إجراء إعادة التنظيم المالي: الأثر المترتب على افتتاح الإجراء: (تعيين الأمين والخبير وقاضي الإشراف وصلاحياتهم

At the trustee's request, the court may appoint an expert, from the register of experts or otherwise, to help the trustee carry out its tasks in financial reorganization.

Official text (Arabic)

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

للمحكمة -بناء على طلب الأمين- تعيين خبير من المدرجين بقائمة الخبراء أو من غيرهم لمساعدة الأمين في أداء مهماته.

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 51 explained in plain English

This article permits using an expert to assist the trustee in the financial reorganization procedure.

Elements of the provision:

Who appoints the expert? The court.
At whose request? At the request of the trustee; the text makes the appointment at its request.
From where is the expert chosen? From those listed in the register of experts, or from others. Unlike the trustee, who is appointed from the register of bankruptcy trustees under Article 50, the expert need not be listed in the register.
Purpose: To assist the trustee in carrying out its tasks.

The article does not specify the expert's specialty or the scope of their work in detail; that is determined by what the trustee's tasks require.

Article 52 places restrictions on who may be appointed as an expert: it may not be the debtor's creditor or spouse, in-law or relative up to the fourth degree, nor the debtor's partner, employee, auditor or agent within the two years preceding the opening of the procedure. It also requires the expert to disclose to the court their relationship with the debtor and the creditors before being appointed.

Note that Article 50 allows the trustee, with the court's approval, to delegate some of its tasks to someone listed in the register of trustees or experts, which differs from appointing an assisting expert under this article.

To ask about the expert's role in a particular procedure, it is advisable to consult a lawyer specializing in bankruptcy and commercial cases.

Practical example

The financial reorganization trustee for a plastics factory in Dammam needed a precise valuation of the production lines before preparing the proposal. It asked the court to appoint an engineering expert, and the court appointed a specialist engineer who is not listed in the register of experts to assist 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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