Article 12 of the Saudi Civil Transactions Law

المادة 12 من نظام المعاملات المدنية · الفرع الأول: الشخص ذو الصفة الطبيعية

The article defines a person with full capacity as one who has reached the age of majority, enjoys his mental faculties and is not under interdiction, and sets the age of majority at 18 full Hijri years.

Official text (Arabic)

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

1- كامل الأهلية هو كلُّ شخصٍ بلغ سن الرشد متمتعًا بقواه العقلية ولم يُحجر عليه.

2- سن الرشد هي تمام (ثماني عشرة) سنة هجرية.

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 12 explained in plain English

This article specifies who has full capacity, that is, the person who in principle is entitled to carry out his acts himself.

Conditions for full capacity: A person has full capacity when three conditions are met:

Reaching the age of majority.
Enjoying his mental faculties.
Not being under interdiction.

Reaching the age alone is therefore not enough. A person who has reached the age of majority but has lost his mental faculties, or is under interdiction, is not considered to have full capacity under this article.

The age of majority: Paragraph 2 sets it at 18 full Hijri years. What counts is Hijri years, not Gregorian years. A person reaches the age of majority on completing eighteen Hijri years, which is some months before he completes eighteen Gregorian years.

Its link to other articles: This article corresponds to Article 13, which defines a person lacking capacity as one who lacks discernment because of young age or insanity, and provides that a person who has not completed seven years of age is not considered to have discernment. Article 11 deals with the chosen domicile and requires writing to prove it.

To confirm a person's capacity to conclude a particular act, it is advisable to consult a lawyer who specializes in civil cases.

Practical example

Omar was born in the month of Ramadan and wanted to know when he would have full capacity. He does so on completing eighteen Hijri years from his birth, provided that he enjoys his mental faculties and is not under interdiction. If a judgment of interdiction were issued against him, he would no longer have full capacity despite reaching the age.

Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.

How we write and review content

A question about Article 12 of Civil Transactions Law?

Describe what happened and specialist lawyers answer. You can write in English.