Article 4 of the Saudi Civil Transactions Law
المادة 4 من نظام المعاملات المدنية · الفرع الأول: الشخص ذو الصفة الطبيعية
The Article refers the rules on the missing person, the absent person and the person of unknown parentage to the statutory provisions specific to them rather than regulating them in the Civil Transactions Law.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
تسري على المفقود والغائب ومجهول النسب النصوص النظامية الخاصة بهم.
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 4 explained in plain English
This Article concerns three categories of persons with special status, namely:
- The missing person.
- The absent person.
- The person of unknown parentage.
In this Article the Civil Transactions Law did not lay down detailed rules for them but provided that the statutory provisions specific to them apply to them. In practical terms, this means that anyone looking for a rule concerning one of them, such as the management of his property or the determination of his status, refers first to the special laws dealing with his situation, not to general provisions he tries to apply to him by effort.
This Article complements what Article 3 established, that a person's personality begins with complete live birth and ends with death, and it accords with Article 5, which subjects persons' names, titles, families, kinship and nationalities to the statutory provisions specific to them.
This Article does not define the missing person, the absent person or the person of unknown parentage, nor the procedures relating to them; all that is left to the special provisions. Anyone with a missing or absent relative who needs to know their rights or obligations would do best to consult a lawyer who specializes in personal 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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Frequently asked questions about Article 4 of the Saudi Civil Transactions Law
Which law applies to the missing and the absent person?
The statutory provisions specific to them apply to them, as Article 4 of the Civil Transactions Law provides.
Does the Civil Transactions Law regulate the rules on a person of unknown parentage?
The Article refers the rules on the person of unknown parentage to the statutory provisions specific to him and does not lay down detailed rules for him.
More articles on Capacity and General Provisions
- Article 1
The Article sets the order of what applies to civil matters: the Law's provisions, then the general rules in the final provisions, then the most suitable rulings of Sharia, without prejudice to special statutory provisions.
1- تُطبق نصوص هذا النظام على جميع المسائل التي تناولتها في لفظها أو في فحواها، فإن لم يوجد نص يمكن تطبيقه طُبقت القواعد الكلية الواردة في الأحكام الختامية، فإن
- Article 2
The Article provides that all periods and time limits in the Civil Transactions Law are calculated by the Hijri calendar.
تحسب المدد والمواعيد الواردة في هذا النظام بالتقويم الهجري.
- Article 3
The Article provides that a person's legal personality begins with complete live birth and ends with death, and that the rights of an unborn child in the womb are determined by statutory provisions.
1- تبدأ شخصية الإنسان بتمام ولادته حيًّا وتنتهي بموته. 2- حقوق الحمل المستكن تحددها النصوص النظامية.
- Article 5
The Article refers the rules on persons' names, titles, families, kinship and nationalities to the statutory provisions specific to them.
تسري على أسماء الأشخاص وألقابهم وأسرهم وقراباتهم وجنسياتهم النصوص النظامية الخاصة بها.
- Article 6
The article defines direct kinship as the link between ascendants and descendants, and indirect kinship as the bond between persons who share a common ancestor without one being a descendant of the other.
1- القرابة المباشرة هي الصلة بين الأصول والفروع. 2- القرابة غير المباشرة هي الرابطة بين أشخاصٍ يجمعهم أصلٌ مشتركٌ دون أن يكون أحدهم فرعًا للآخر.
- Article 7
The article explains how to count the degree of direct and indirect kinship, and treats a spouse's relatives as having the same kinship and degree in relation to the other spouse.
1- تتحدد درجة القرابة المباشرة باعتبار كل فرعٍ درجةً عند الصعود للأصل دون حساب الأصل، وتتحدد درجة القرابة غير المباشرة بعدد الفروع صعودًا من الفرع للأصل المشترك
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.