Article 53 of the Saudi Criminal Procedure Law

المادة 53 من نظام الإجراءات الجزائية · الفصل الرابع: تفتيش الأشخاص والمساكن

The article requires a woman to be with those carrying out the search if the only person in the home to be searched is the female accused.

Official text (Arabic)

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

إذا لم يكن في المسكن المراد تفتيشه إلا المرأة المتهمة، وجب أن يكون مع القائمين بالتفتيش امرأة.

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 53 explained in plain English

This article sets a special safeguard for the female accused when a home is searched, and its rule is:

The situation: the home to be searched has no one but the female accused in it.
The rule: there must be a woman with those carrying out the search.

The rule is mandatory, so the search may not, in this situation, be carried out by a team of men alone. The article does not specify the capacity or body of the accompanying woman, but is content to require that a woman be present with those carrying out the search.

This article is among the provisions that take account of women's privacy during a search, including Article 54, which deals with another situation: if there are women in the home and the purpose of entering is not to arrest or search them, a woman must be with those carrying out the search, and they must be allowed to veil themselves or leave the home and be given the necessary facilities for that, in a manner that does not harm the interest and outcome of the search.

The general timing rules in Article 52 also apply to this search, as a search must take place by day from sunrise to sunset, and homes may not be entered at night except in a flagrant crime.

If the home of a female accused was searched without this rule being observed, you may consult a lawyer specialized in criminal cases to learn the available steps.

Practical example

A permit was issued to search an apartment in Jeddah where a female accused lives alone. When the search team arrives, a woman must be with them, and men may not carry out the search alone in this situation.

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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