Article 5 of the Saudi Emergency Law

This article explains what the Supreme Emergency Council and the Crisis Room established by Article 4 do.

Competences of the Council (paragraph 1):

• Recommending the declaration of a state of emergency, stating the reasons for the declaration, how long it is to be in force and the geographic scope covered by it.
• Recommending policies on preserving public order, security, health, the environment and public safety, defending the Kingdom, protecting its capabilities and gains, and enabling business continuity while the state of emergency is in force, and directing the public entities concerned as needed.
• Giving an opinion on what the chair of the Council or his deputy refers to it.
• Any other competence set by the royal order declaring the state of emergency or by a later royal order.

Finality of decisions (paragraph 2): the Council's decisions become final after the King's approval.

Competences of the Crisis Room (paragraph 3):

• Requesting reports, data and information from the National Emergency Management Authority and public entities, and submitting recommendations on them to the Council.
• Following up the state of emergency.
• Any other competence assigned to it by the chair of the Council or his deputy.

It is clear that the Council's role in declaring a state of emergency is to recommend; as for the declaration itself, Article 6 provides that it is issued by the King by royal order if he considers that the emergency event requires it. The elements of the recommendation (reasons, duration and geographic scope) correspond to what the royal order declaring the state of emergency sets under Article 7. Anyone who needs to understand the effect of the Council's decisions on their activity can consult a lawyer who specializes in administrative cases.