Article 22 of the Saudi Council of Ministers Law

This article regulates the right of initiative within the Council of Ministers, and contains two different provisions:

First provision: the minister's right to propose laws and regulations.

• Every minister has the right to propose a draft law or regulation.
• On condition that the draft is related to his ministry's work.

Second provision: a member's right to propose subjects for discussion.

• Every member of the Council of Ministers may propose what he sees as worth discussing in the Council.
• On condition of the Prime Minister's approval.

The difference between the two provisions is clear in the text: the first is a right of the minister limited to his ministry's affairs, which the text did not make subject to prior approval. The second is wider in subject matter because it covers anything the member sees as worth discussing, but is subject to the head of the Council's approval.

This article is linked to Article 21, which states that the Council studies draft laws and regulations put before it and votes on them article by article and then as a whole under its internal rules; a proposal under Article 22 is a step that precedes study and voting. It is followed by Article 23, which requires all decrees to be published in the Official Gazette and makes them effective from the date of publication unless another date is specified.