Article 30 of the Saudi Commercial Court Law

المادة 30 من النظام التجاري نظام المحكمة التجارية · الفصل الرابع: في الدلالين المعبر عنهم بالسماسرة

The article defines the broker (dallal) as a person who mediates between seller and buyer to complete the sale for a fee.

Official text (Arabic)

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

الدلال : هو من يتوسط بين البائع والمشتري لإتمام البيع بأجرة.

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 30 explained in plain English

This article defines the broker (dallal), also known as the samsar, in a brief definition based on three elements:

Mediation: He is an intermediary, not a party to the sale.
Between seller and buyer.
To complete the sale for a fee: His work is paid, and its aim is completing the sale.

The broker under this definition is neither a seller nor a buyer, but brings the two parties together so that the sale is made between them, and he is entitled to his fee for this mediation.

Article 31 refers the broker's rights, duties and fee to established custom and usage, so the law does not set a particular percentage for the fee.

The element of the fee means that brokerage is a paid work by nature, while the amount of the fee, the broker's rights and his duties were referred by Article 31 to established custom and usage. Tying the fee in the definition to the phrase "to complete the sale" also shows that the aim of the broker's work is to reach completion of the sale between the parties, not merely to display the goods. The definition in its generality covers anyone who performs this mediation between a seller and a buyer.

If a dispute arises over a broker's entitlement to his fee or its amount, consult a lawyer who specializes in commercial cases.

Practical example

Faisal wanted to sell a shipment of rice, so Salem introduced him to a buyer in Jeddah and completed the sale between them for a fee. Salem here is a broker under this article, because he mediated between seller and buyer to complete the sale for a fee.

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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