Article 36 of the Saudi Environment Law

This Article sets out who detects violations of the Environment Law and how, in five paragraphs:

1- Inspectors: They are designated by decision of the Minister or the chairman of the board of directors of the competent authority, as the case may be. They act jointly or individually to detect, investigate and prove violations of the Law and the regulations, and the regulations set their working mechanisms. This is without prejudice to Article 42, which gives the Public Prosecution responsibility for investigating the violations referred to in Article 40 and for prosecution before the competent court.

2- Coordination with the supervising authority: Before entering facilities to inspect them, review their records and data, and detect violations in them, the inspector must coordinate with the supervising authority, that is, the government authority empowered to supervise the sector to which the facility belongs. The regulations set the mechanisms for this and the classification of the facilities covered.

3- The inspector's powers:

• To take samples of materials and items held by a facility suspected of violating the Law or regulations, where necessary, while drawing up a seizure report that records the data needed to verify the samples and the materials from which they were taken, and keeping a copy of the inspected facility's records and data, in accordance with the regulations.
• To recover seized vegetation or wildlife products and deal with them in accordance with the regulations, without prejudice to the penalties in Articles 38 and 40.
• To hold vehicles and tools used, or suspected of being used, in the violation, and hand them to the competent authority as seized items. This is at the violator's expense if the violation is proven, and the hold must be presented to the competent court within no more than 7 days to confirm or cancel it.

4- Protection of the inspector's work: It is prohibited to prevent or obstruct an inspector from carrying out inspection and seizure work. In return, the inspector must show his employment card when starting to exercise his powers.

5- Assignment to companies: The Minister or the board of directors of the competent authority may, by decision, assign some inspection and violation-detection tasks of an administrative nature to specialized companies, in accordance with controls set by the regulations and without prejudice to the requirement to coordinate with the supervising authority.

A facility being inspected may ask to see the inspector's card. If an inspector has held your vehicle or tools and you want to know your position before the court, you may wish to consult a lawyer who specializes in environmental law.