Article 31 of the Saudi Civil Service Law
المادة 31 من نظام الخدمة المدنية · الباب الثالث: أحكام عامة وانتقالية
Article 31 allows the Minister to delegate some of his powers under the Civil Service Law to others, without specifying to whom or which powers.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
للوزير تفويض بعض صلاحياته المقررة في 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 31 explained in plain English
The Civil Service Law gives the Minister various powers over personnel matters. This article allows the Minister to delegate some of these powers to others, rather than exercising all of them himself.
The key points of the text are:
- Delegation is permitted, not obligatory; it is in the Minister's hands.
- Delegation covers some powers, not all of them, as the article's wording indicates.
- The subject of delegation is the powers provided for in this Law, meaning the Civil Service Law.
The article does not specify the entity or person to whom delegation is made, nor the powers that may or may not be delegated, nor the form of the delegation decision; these details therefore cannot be drawn from the article's text alone.
Article 32 complements this provision, as it gives the head of an independent agency, with respect to the employees of his agency, the powers the Minister has with respect to the employees of the ministry.
The practical significance of this article is that many decisions relating to employees may be issued by an official other than the Minister on the basis of a delegation from him. Anyone who wants to verify the validity of a decision issued by delegation in his case may consult a lawyer specializing in administrative and civil service cases.
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 31 of the Saudi Civil Service Law
May the Minister delegate his powers under the Civil Service Law?
Yes. Article 31 allows the Minister to delegate some of his powers provided for in the Civil Service Law.
May all of the Minister's powers be delegated?
The article's text speaks of delegating "some" powers and does not mention delegating all of them.
Does the article specify who the powers are delegated to?
No. The article does not specify the person or entity delegated to, nor the powers that can be delegated.
More articles on General Provisions of the Civil Service
- Article 15 bis
The article makes the human resources department in each government body responsible for applying the law and its regulations, requires departments to refer to it, and requires the body to refer to the Ministry on any difficulty it meets.
- أُضيفت هذه المادة وذلك بموجب المرسوم الملكي رقم (م/95) وتاريخ 1439/9/15هـ، لتكون بالنص الآتي: "تتولى إدارة الموارد البشرية في الجهة الحكومية تطبيق أحكام هذا ا
- Article 32
Article 32 gives the head of an independent agency, with respect to his agency's employees, the powers the Minister has with respect to ministry employees.
يكون لرئيس المصلحة المستقلة بالنسبة لموظفي هذه المصلحة من الصلاحيات ما للوزير بالنسبة لموظفي الوزارة.
- Article 37Amended by M/139
Article 37 allows particular posts to be exempted from some provisions of the Civil Service Law, as the Regulation provides and in agreement with the Minister of Finance.
يجوز استثناء وظائف معينة من بعض أحكام هذا النظام وفق ما تنظمه اللائحة، وذلك بالاتفاق مع وزير المالية
- Article 37 bisAmended (1438 AH)
Article 37 bis applies the Civil Service Law to civil employees who hold permanent posts in the state's general budget, excluding employees of entities governed by special laws or regulations, within the limits those provide.
تسري أحكام هذا النظام على جميع الموظفين المدنيين الذين يشغلون وظائف ثابتة في الميزانية العامة للدولة، ويستثنى من تطبيق أحكامه موظفو الجهات الذين تسري في شأنهم أ
- Article 38
Article 38 provides that the Civil Service Law replaces the Employees Law (Royal Decree No. M/5 dated 1/2/1391 AH) for employees originally subject to it and for those whose own systems the Employees Law supplemented, within the limits those systems provide.
يحل هذا النظام محل نظام الموظفين الصادر بالمرسوم الملكي رقم م/5 وتاريخ 1 / 2 / 1391 هـ وذلك : أ - بالنسبة للموظفين الخاضعين بصفة أصلية لهذا النظام. ب - بالنسبة
- Article 39
Article 39 provides that the Council of Ministers issues the regulations of the Civil Service Law and may authorize the Minister of Civil Service to issue some of them.
يصدر مجلس الوزراء لوائح هذا النظام، وللمجلس تفويض وزير الخدمة المدنية في إصدار بعض منها
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.