Article 17 of the Saudi Civil Defense Law

المادة 17 من نظام الدفاع المدني

Article 17 allows civil defense to call on those whom the interest requires to be summoned, with their rights, duties and relationship to their workplaces regulated by a regulation issued by the Council of Ministers.

Official text (Arabic)

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

يجوز للدفاع المدني الاستعانة بمن تقتضي المصلحة استدعاءهم، ويتم تنظيم حقوق هؤلاء وواجباتهم وعلاقتهم بالجهات التي يعملون فيها وفق لائحة تصدر بقرار من مجلس الوزراء بناء على اقتراح مجلس الدفاع المدني .

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 17 explained in plain English

This article gives civil defense the power to call on those whom the interest requires to be summoned; that is, it may summon persons from outside it to take part in its work if the interest requires.

The article contains two provisions:

Summoning is permitted: the text says "may", and the criterion is the interest.
The status of those summoned is regulated by a regulation: their rights and duties and their relationship to the bodies where they work are regulated by a regulation issued by decision of the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the Civil Defense Council.

The reference to "their relationship to the bodies where they work" matters in practice, because the person summoned may be an employee or worker of another body, so the regulation of his employment status during the summons is left to the regulation. The article itself does not state these rights and duties or the duration of the summons, so their details cannot be asserted without referring to the regulation.

Note the difference in the body issuing the regulation here; it is the Council of Ministers, whereas Article 16 refers the conditions for providing meals to those carrying out civil defense work to a regulation issued by the Civil Defense Council.

Article 18 comes with a more general provision, making every person, even if not a volunteer, responsible for providing the possible and necessary assistance to civil defense operations in cases where necessity calls for it.

Anyone who receives a summons and wants to know their rights and the effect on their work can consult a lawyer specializing in administrative matters.

Practical example

An engineer working at a contracting company in Riyadh with experience in assessing building safety is summoned by civil defense to help assess damaged buildings. Under this article, civil defense may call on him if the interest requires, and a regulation issued by the Council of Ministers sets his rights and duties and his relationship to the company where he works during that time.

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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