Article 174 of the Saudi Criminal Procedure Law

المادة 174 من نظام الإجراءات الجزائية · الفصل السابع: دعوى التزوير الفرعية

Article 174 permits the public prosecutor and the rest of the litigants to challenge any evidence in the case as forged, at any stage of the case.

Official text (Arabic)

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

للمدعي العام ولسائر الخصوم في أي حال كانت عليها الدعوى أن يطعنوا بالتزوير في أي دليل من أدلة القضية.

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 174 explained in plain English

This article establishes the right to challenge evidence as forged in the case's evidence, and defines its scope in three respects:

Who may challenge: the public prosecutor and the rest of the litigants, so it is not the right of one party only.
When the challenge may be made: at any stage of the case; the article does not limit it to a particular phase.
The subject of the challenge: any of the case's evidence.

A challenge as forged means that one of the parties claims that evidence submitted in the case is forged.

Article 175 regulates the procedures for this challenge, requiring the challenge to be submitted to the court before which the case is pending, and that the challenge specify the evidence challenged as forged and the support for that forgery. This article is also connected to Article 173, which arranges pleading among the public prosecutor, the accused and the private right claimant.

Because a challenge as forged is a serious allegation, and the person making it needs to identify the evidence and state what he relies on, it is advisable to consult a lawyer specialized in criminal cases before submitting it.

Practical example

In a case before a court in Riyadh, the private right claimant submitted a receipt that he claims the accused signed, but the accused considers that the signature is not his. Under this article he may challenge this evidence as forged at any stage of the case.

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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