Article 33 of the Saudi Commercial Court Law

المادة 33 من النظام التجاري نظام المحكمة التجارية · الفصل الرابع: في الدلالين المعبر عنهم بالسماسرة

The article requires brokers to present their books with the necessary explanations if the Commercial Court requests them, with no right to refuse.

Official text (Arabic)

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

يجب على الدلالين أن يقدموا دفاترهم مع ما يلزم من الإيضاحات إذا طلبت منهم المحكمة التجارية وليس لهم حق الامتناع بوجه من الوجوه.

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 33 explained in plain English

This article completes the rule of Article 32, which required the broker in commercial goods between merchants to keep a daybook in which he records his work day by day. If the book is a means of documentation, this article also makes it a means of proof before the courts.

The provision of the article:

Brokers must present their books.
Along with the necessary explanations.
That is if the court requests it from them, and the text mentions the Commercial Court.
And they have no right to refuse in any way.

The duty here is absolute: the broker may not rely on the confidentiality of his work or any other excuse to refuse to present the book when the court requests it. Note that the duty arises on the court's request, and the article does not mention a right of the parties to the deal to inspect the book directly.

Thus the purpose of the book is completed: Article 32 ensures its accuracy by prohibiting blanks, erasures and writing between the lines, and this article ensures access to it in a dispute. If the proof of your deal depends on a broker's book, consult a lawyer who specializes in commercial cases.

Practical example

Two merchants in Riyadh disagreed over the price of a deal made through a broker. The court asked the broker to present his book, and he has no right to refuse, and must present it with the necessary explanations under this article.

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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