Article 16 of the Saudi Child Protection Law

This article makes the principle of the child's interest a binding rule for every authority that takes an action concerning a child. It contains three obligations:

1. Taking the child's interest into account in all procedures taken concerning the child.
2. Expediting the completion of these procedures, since delay in a child's affairs may harm the child.
3. Taking the child's needs into account, whether mental, psychological, physical, upbringing or educational, in line with the child's age, health and the like.

The article is addressed to "all authorities", a phrase broader than the "relevant authorities" determined by the Implementing Regulations under Article 1. So it includes every authority that takes an action concerning the child.

The phrase "in line with the child's age, health and the like" means that treatment differs according to the child's situation: what suits a five-year-old may not suit a sixteen-year-old, and what suits a healthy child may not suit a sick child or one with special needs.

This article appears in Chapter Four on the child's right to care and responsibility toward the child, after Article 15, which makes the parents or whoever is responsible for the child's care responsible for upbringing and protection. The article does not set particular periods for expediting. Anyone with a procedure concerning a child that has been delayed or in which the child's interest was overlooked can consult a lawyer who specializes in personal status cases.