Article 19 of the Saudi Chambers of Commerce Law
المادة 19 من نظام الغرف التجارية · الفصل الثاني: الأجهزة الإدارية للغرفة
Article 19 lists the powers of the chamber's board of directors, including approving policies, reviewing regulations, acting on the chamber's behalf, appointing the Secretary General, and forming committees.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
يختص مجلس إدارة الغرفة بما يأتي:
1- إقرار السياسات العامة للغرفة والخطط والبرامج والمشروعات اللازمة لأداء مهماتها.
2- دراسة مشروعات لوائح الغرفة الداخلية، بما في ذلك اللوائح الإدارية والمالية، واللوائح الخاصة بالعاملين في الغرفة، ولائحة الحوكمة، ولوائح التدريب والابتعاث، وعرضها على الجمعية العمومية لاعتمادها.
3- إصدار القرارات والتعليمات اللازمة لممارسة الغرفة مهماتها.
4- القيام -نيابة عن الغرفة- بالبيع، والشراء، والتأجير، والاستئجار، والتقاضي، والاقتراض، وقبول الهبات، وقبول الإفراغ، والرهن، وغير ذلك من الأعمال والتصرفات، في حدود مهمات الغرفة.
5- متابعة أداء الغرفة وتقاريرها ربع السنوية.
6- مناقشة التقرير السنوي عن نشاط الغرفة، والحساب الختامي، ومشروع الموازنة التقديرية؛ للموافقة عليها، وعرضها على الجمعية العمومية للغرفة للاعتماد.
7- تزويد الوزارة بنسخة من التقرير السنوي، ومشروع الموازنة التقديرية، والحساب الختامي.
8- تعيين الأمين العام للغرفة، وإنهاء خدماته.
9- تشكيل اللجان القطاعية.
10- تشكيل اللجان الداخلية وتفويضها بما يراه مناسباً.
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 19 explained in plain English
This article sets out the powers of the chamber's board of directors, which can be grouped as follows:
- Planning and organization: approving the chamber's general policies, plans, programs and projects needed to carry out its duties, and issuing the decisions and instructions needed to exercise them.
- Regulations: reviewing draft internal regulations of the chamber (administrative and financial regulations, staff regulations, the governance regulation, and training and scholarship regulations), then submitting them to the General Assembly for approval; the board reviews them but does not approve them itself.
- Legal acts: carrying out, on behalf of the chamber, sales, purchases, leases, renting, litigation, borrowing, accepting gifts, accepting transfers of title, mortgages and other acts, within the limits of the chamber's duties.
- Follow-up and reports: following up on the chamber's performance and its quarterly reports, discussing the annual activity report, the final accounts and the draft estimated budget for approval, then submitting them to the General Assembly for adoption, and providing the Ministry with a copy.
- Secretary General: appointing the Secretary General and ending his or her service.
- Committees: forming sectoral committees, and forming internal committees and delegating to them as the board sees fit.
The important limit on these acts is that they must be within the limits of the chamber's duties, so they do not extend to anything outside them.
Article 20 then gives the chamber's president specific responsibility for following up on strategic matters and for calling and chairing General Assembly and board meetings, leaving the details of his or her powers to the Implementing Regulations. Article 18, which comes before it, governs the filling of a vacant board seat.
Practical example
A chamber of commerce wants to buy land to build a new headquarters in Abha. The chamber's board of directors concludes the purchase on the chamber's behalf, because buying property and accepting the transfer of title are acts the board carries out within the limits of the chamber's duties.
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 19 of the Saudi Chambers of Commerce Law
Who appoints the Secretary General of a chamber of commerce?
The chamber's board of directors appoints the Secretary General and ends his or her service.
Does the chamber's board approve the internal regulations itself?
No. The board reviews the draft regulations and then submits them to the General Assembly for approval.
Can a chamber's board borrow money or mortgage property?
Yes. The board carries out borrowing, mortgages and other acts on the chamber's behalf, within the limits of the chamber's duties.
More articles on Chamber Board Powers and Meetings
- Article 15
The fifteenth article provides that the first deputy takes the Chamber president's place with full powers when he is absent or loses membership, then the second deputy when both are absent or lose membership.
يقوم النائب الأول لرئيس الغرفة مقام الرئيس، وتكون له جميع صلاحياته ويمارس جميع مهماته عند غيابه أو فقده عضوية مجلس إدارة الغرفة وفقًا للمادة (السابعة عشرة) من ا
- Article 20
Article 20 gives the chamber's president responsibility for following up on strategic matters and for calling and chairing General Assembly and board meetings, and leaves his or her other powers to the Implementing Regulations.
يختص رئيس الغرفة بصفة خاصة بمتابعة مهمات الغرفة ذات الطابع الاستراتيجي، والدعوة إلى اجتماعات الجمعية العمومية للغرفة ومجلس الإدارة، ورئاسة هذه الاجتماعات وإدارت
- Article 21
Article 21 requires the chamber's board to meet at least once every 60 days, and governs emergency meetings called by the president or requested by one third of the members.
1- يجتمع مجلس إدارة الغرفة في مقرها مرة كل (ستين) يوماً على الأقل بدعوة من رئيسه، ويجب أن تشتمل الدعوة على جدول أعمال الاجتماع. 2- لرئيس الغرفة دعوة مجلس الإدار
- Article 22
Article 22 sets the quorum for a chamber board meeting and allows it to be postponed twice if the quorum is not reached, with a Ministry representative attending the third meeting.
تكون اجتماعات مجلس إدارة الغرفة صحيحة بحضور أكثر من نصف عدد أعضائه، على أن يكون من بينهم رئيس الغرفة أو أحد نائبيه. فإن لم يكتمل النصاب، يؤجل الاجتماع -بقرار من
- Article 23
Article 23 governs the confidentiality of chamber board discussions, decisions by majority of those present, open voting, inviting non-members, and electronic meetings and circulation.
1- تكون المناقشات في اجتماعات مجلس إدارة الغرفة سرية. 2- تصدر قرارات مجلس إدارة الغرفة بأغلبية عدد أصوات الأعضاء الحاضرين، فإن تساوت الأصوات يرجح الجانب الذي صو
- Article 24
Article 24 requires the chamber's president, deputies, members and Secretary General to notify the board of any interest in the chamber's contracts, and bars them from attending the deliberations and voting on them.
إذا كان لرئيس الغرفة أو أحد نائبيه أو أحد أعضاء المجلس أو الأمين العام للغرفة مصلحة مباشرة أو غير مباشرة في العقود أو الاتفاقيات التي تبرمها الغرفة، فيتعين عليه
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.