Article 28 of the Saudi Civil Society Associations Law

This article sets the rules that govern public benefit associations, following the principle that the specific overrides the general:

• The rule: public benefit associations are civil society associations, so the provisions of the Law relating to associations apply to them, such as the provisions on establishment, the general assembly, the board, resources, obligations and dissolution.
• The exception: where there is a special provision on public benefit associations, that special provision applies in place of the general one.

An example of a special provision is Article 27, which allows government and private bodies to contract with public benefit associations to run an institution belonging to them or carry out their projects and programs.

In practice, anyone who establishes or runs a public benefit association must comply with all the provisions on associations, such as keeping records, the annual report and the general assembly quorum, and then add whatever advantages or additional obligations the special provisions provide.

This article prevents a regulatory gap: what no special provision on public benefit associations covers is not left without a rule, but is referred to the provisions on associations. Article 29 follows, which begins regulating the resources of the civil society organization.