Article 55 of the Saudi Civil Transactions Law

المادة 55 من نظام المعاملات المدنية · الفرع الأول: أركان العقد أولًا: الرضى

Transactions by guardians and executors are treated as valid within the limits set by statutory texts.

Official text (Arabic)

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

تعدُّ التصرفات الصادرة عن الأولياء والأوصياء صحيحةً في الحدود التي تقررها النصوص النظامية.

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 55 explained in plain English

This article deals with transactions made by guardians and executors, and provides that they are valid, but with an important restriction: that they be within the limits set by statutory texts.

This means two things:

that a transaction by a guardian or executor that falls within the statutory limits is treated as valid.
that the validity of the transaction is restricted by those limits; the article did not make every transaction by them valid without qualification.

The article does not state these limits, or the rule on a transaction that exceeds them, but refers to statutory texts. In this it is consistent with Article 54, which provides that matters relating to guardianship and executorship are governed by the statutory texts specific to them.

In practice, a person who deals with a guardian or executor in a transaction concerning the property of the person whose affairs he manages needs to verify that the transaction falls within the limits set by statutory texts, because the article ties validity to those limits.

On a related subject, Article 56 provides that a partially incapacitated person who resorts to fraudulent means to conceal his incapacity must compensate the harm caused to the other contracting party by the annulment of the contract.

If you are going to contract with a guardian or executor concerning a minor's property, consult a lawyer who specializes in personal status or civil cases.

Practical example

An executor for orphans in Medina wanted to sell a car the orphans own. The sale is treated as valid if it falls within the limits that statutory texts set for the executor, so the buyer and the executor need to verify those limits before completing the sale.

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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