Article 1 of the Saudi Civil Status Law
المادة 1 من نظام الأحوال المدنية
The article names the law the Civil Status Law and explains that it is concerned with regulating the civil status of Saudi citizens and recording civil events of foreigners inside the Kingdom.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
يسمى هذا النظام ( نظام الأحوال المدنية ) وتعنى أحكامه بما يلي:
أ - ضبط الحالة المدنية لكل مواطن سعودي، وتسجيل كل ما يتصل بهذه الحالة من الواقعات المدنية التي تطرأ في حياته في السجل المخصص لذلك.
ب - تدوين الواقعات المدنية التي تحصل للأجانب داخل المملكة في السجل المخصص لذلك.
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 1 explained in plain English
This article is the entry point to the Civil Status Law; it names the law and sets out the purpose for which its provisions were made, which has two parts:
- For the Saudi citizen: regulating his civil status, and recording in the register designated for that everything connected with it, namely the civil events that occur in his life.
- For foreigners: recording, in the register designated for that, the civil events that occur to them inside the Kingdom.
Article 2 explains what these terms mean: an event is the occurrence of birth, marriage, divorce, loss or recovery of nationality, or death, and any incident that the law or its Implementing Regulations require to be registered, and what branches out from them that requires an amendment to their entries. Civil status is everything that describes the citizen's civil life through the occurrence of one of these events.
The wording of the article shows a difference in scope between the two groups: the Saudi citizen's civil status is regulated in full, whereas for the foreigner it is limited to recording the events that happen to him inside the Kingdom. Article 2 also provides that the central civil register is the general register in which the civil statuses of all Saudis are recorded, and that the events register is the register in which civil status events are recorded.
This article helps in understanding the rest of the law's provisions, since the following provisions are read in light of these two aims.
Practical example
A foreign engineer working for a company in Dammam had a baby in one of the city's hospitals. This birth is a civil event that occurred to a foreigner inside the Kingdom, so the Civil Status Law covers it in terms of recording it in the register designated for that, just as the law covers the birth of a child to a Saudi citizen in Riyadh as part of regulating his civil status.
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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Active contributorFrequently asked questions about Article 1 of the Saudi Civil Status Law
Does the Civil Status Law apply to foreigners residing in Saudi Arabia?
Yes, within what the article provides: the civil events that occur to foreigners inside the Kingdom are recorded in the register designated for that.
What is meant by a civil event?
Under Article 2, it is the occurrence of birth, marriage, divorce, loss or recovery of nationality, or death, and any incident that the law or its Implementing Regulations require to be registered.
What is the purpose of the Civil Status Law?
Regulating the civil status of every Saudi citizen and recording the civil events that occur in his life, and recording the events that occur to foreigners inside the Kingdom.
More articles on Definitions in the Civil Status Law
- Article 2Amended by M/198
The article defines the terms of the Civil Status Law, including event, civil status, registers and committees, and the personal ID card in both its physical and digital forms.
تدل المصطلحات التالية - حيثما وردت في هذا النظام ولائحته التنفيذية - على المعاني المدونة لكل منها: أ - المديرية : هي المديرية العامة للأحوال المدنية المسئولة عن
- Article 3
The article makes the civil status departments and offices the bodies that register civil statuses and events and issue personal ID cards and family record books under the law and its regulations.
تقوم إدارات ومكاتب الأحوال المدنية بتسجيل الحالات والواقعات المدنية وإصدار البطاقات الشخصية ودفاتر العائلة وفق أحكام هذا النظام ولائحته التنفيذية.
- Article 4
The article provides for establishing civil status offices by decision of the Minister of Interior as needed to assist the departments, with the decision determining the department to which each office is attached.
يعاون إدارات الأحوال المدنية في أداء مسئولياتها مكاتب للأحوال المدنية تنشأ بقرار من وزير الداخلية حسب مقتضى الحاجة، ويعين القرار إدارة الأحوال المدنية التي يتبع
- Article 86
The article establishes a central authority in the General Directorate of Civil Status, chaired by the Director General, with a counselor from the Board of Grievances, a legal adviser and a physician.
تشكل في المديرية العامة للأحوال المدنية هيئة مركزية مكونة من: أ - المدير العام للأحوال المدنية رئيساً ب - مستشار من ديوان المظالم يعينه رئيس ديوان المظالم عضواً
- Article 88
The article leaves to the Implementing Regulations the procedures for the work of the committees and the Civil Status Authority, including submitting and deciding requests, grievances and appeals.
تحدد اللائحة التنفيذية الإجراءات التي يستلزمها حسن أداء اللجان والهيئة لأعمالها بما في ذلك إجراء التقدم بالطلبات والتظلمات والطعون والفصل فيها.
- Article 91Amended (1440 AH)
The article provides that the head of the family, for purposes of applying the Civil Status Law, is the father or the mother with respect to minor children.
يعد رب الأسرة في مجال تطبيق هذا النظام هو الأب أو الأم بالنسبة إلى الأولاد القصّر
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.