Article 154 of the Saudi Criminal Procedure Law

المادة 154 من نظام الإجراءات الجزائية · الفصل السادس: إجراءات الجلسة ونظامها

Article 154 provides that court sessions are public, and permits the court, as an exception, to hear a case in closed sessions or bar certain categories of people from attending, for specified reasons.

Official text (Arabic)

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

جلسات المحاكم علنية، ويجوز للمحكمة - استثناء - أن تنظر الدعوى كلها أو بعضها في جلسات سرية، أو تمنع فئات معينة من الحضور فيها؛ مراعاة للأمن، أو محافظة على الآداب العامة، أو كان ذلك ضروريًا لإظهار الحقيقة.

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 154 explained in plain English

This article sets the rule for court sessions, which is openness to the public, and then permits the court to depart from it as an exception.

The forms of exception the article mentions are:

the court hears the whole case in closed sessions;
the court hears only part of the case in closed sessions; or
the court bars certain categories of people from attending the sessions.

This may be done only for one of the reasons the text specifies:

taking security into account;
preserving public morals; or
where it is necessary to establish the truth.

Openness is the rule, closed sessions require one of these reasons, and the assessment is for the court because the text makes it discretionary. Related to this is what Article 155 provides: that a clerk must attend to write the minutes of the session under the supervision of its presiding judge, recording what takes place in the session.

A party to a case who believes its circumstances call for requesting closed or open sessions can discuss this with a lawyer specialized in criminal cases.

Practical example

A court in Riyadh is hearing a case that involves facts touching on public morals. Under this article, the court may, as an exception, hear the whole case or part of it in closed sessions, or bar certain categories of people from attending, to preserve public morals.

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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