Article 147 of the Saudi Civil Transactions Law
المادة 147 من نظام المعاملات المدنية · الفرع الأول: دفع غير المستحق
What a non-debtor paid cannot be recovered if, as a result, a good-faith creditor lost the debt instrument or its guarantees or abandoned his claim until its period expired, and the payer may have recourse against the original debtor.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
لا محل لاسترداد غير المستحق إذا حصل الوفاء من غير المدين وترتب عليه أن الدائن وهو حسن النية قد تجرد من سند الدين أو مما حصل عليه من الضمانات أو ترك دعواه قِبَل المدين الأصلي حتى انقضاء المدة المعينة لسماعها، وللغير الذي وفى أن يرجع على المدين الأصلي بالدين وفق أحكام 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 147 explained in plain English
This article deals with a special case of payment of what is not due, which is where a person other than the debtor makes the payment, paying the creditor a debt that is not owed by him.
The article provides that there is no ground for recovering what was paid from the creditor if, as a result of this payment, the creditor, being in good faith:
- lost the debt instrument, or
- lost the guarantees he had obtained, or
- abandoned his claim against the original debtor until the period set for hearing it expired.
It appears from these cases that the good-faith creditor acted on the basis that he had been paid his debt, which weakened his position toward the original debtor.
In return, the payer's right is not lost; the article provides that the third party who paid may have recourse against the original debtor for the debt under the provisions of this Law. The article does not detail the manner of this recourse but refers to the provisions of the Law.
Note that the condition of the creditor's good faith is essential to this rule.
This article is linked to Article 146, which sets out cases in which recovery of what was not due is valid, and to Article 148, which determines what the recipient of what was not due must return depending on his good or bad faith.
Anyone who paid a debt for another and wants to know how to recover it should consider consulting a lawyer who specializes in civil and compensation cases.
Practical example
Yousef mistakenly paid a merchant in Dammam a debt owed by someone else, and the merchant, in good faith, returned the debt instrument to the debtor believing he had been paid. In this case Yousef cannot recover the amount from the merchant, but may have recourse against the original debtor for the debt under the provisions of the Law.
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 147 of the Saudi Civil Transactions Law
I paid someone else's debt by mistake; can I recover it from the creditor?
There is no ground for recovery if, as a result of the payment, the good-faith creditor lost the debt instrument or the guarantees or abandoned his claim against the original debtor until the period for hearing it expired.
Do I lose what I paid in this case?
No. The third party who paid may have recourse against the original debtor for the debt under the provisions of the Law.
Is the creditor's good faith required?
Yes. The article requires that the creditor be in good faith.
More articles on Unjust Enrichment
- Article 144
Anyone, even without discernment, who is enriched without lawful cause at another's expense must compensate him for his loss to the extent of his enrichment, and the obligation remains even if the enrichment later disappears.
كل شخص -ولو غير مميز- يثري دون سبب مشروع على حساب شخص آخر يلزمه في حدود ما أثرى به تعويض هذا الشخص عما لحقه من خسارة، ويبقى هذا الالتزام قائمًا ولو زال الإثراء
- Article 145
Whoever received in payment what he was not entitled to must return it, unless the payer knew he was paying what was not due, unless he was of limited capacity or under compulsion.
1- كل من تسلَّم على سبيل الوفاء ما ليس مستحقًّا له وجب عليه ردُّه. 2- لا محلَّ للرد إذا كان من قام بالوفاء يعلم أنه يدفع ما ليس مستحقًا، إلا أن يكون ناقص الأهلي
- Article 146
Recovery of what was not due is valid if the payment was made in performance of an obligation whose cause did not materialize or ceased after materializing, or of an obligation not yet due where the payer was unaware of the term.
يصح استرداد غير المستحق إذا كان الوفاء تنفيذًا لالتزامٍ لم يتحقَّق سببه أو زال بعد تحقُّقه، أو كان الوفاء تنفيذًا لالتزامٍ لم يحل أجله وكان الموفي جاهلًا قيام ا
- Article 148
A good-faith recipient of what was not due returns only what he received; a bad-faith recipient returns what he received plus the fruits he collected or failed to collect, from the day he became in bad faith.
إذا كان من تسلَّم غير المستحق حسن النيَّة فلا يُلزم بأن يرد إلا ما تسلَّم، وإذا كان سيء النيَّة فإنه يُلزم بردِّ ما تسلَّم وثماره التي قبضها والتي قصَّر في قبضه
- Article 149
Whoever received what was not due and lacks capacity to contract is bound only to the extent he was enriched.
إذا لم تتوفر أهلية التعاقد فيمن تسلَّم غير المستحق فلا يكون مُلزمًا إلا بالقدر الذي أثرى به.
- Article 150
Voluntary agency (fudala) is where a person intentionally undertakes an urgent matter for another without being obliged to do so.
الفضالة أن يتولى شخص عن قصدٍ القيام بشأن عاجل لحساب شخص آخر، دون أن يكون ملزمًا بذلك.
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.