Article 44 of the Saudi Environment Law

This Article regulates the precautionary suspension of an activity, which is an urgent measure and not a final penalty, used to prevent serious damage before the violation is decided.

Who may decide it: the Minister, or the chairman of the board of directors of the competent authority, as the case may be, or whoever they delegate.

Its conditions:

• A violation is detected that requires an urgent measure to avoid an environmental disaster; the mere existence of a violation is not enough.
• It is done after coordination with the supervising authority, that is, the government authority empowered to supervise the sector to which the activity belongs.

Its scope and duration: The suspension may be partial or complete, for a period not exceeding 15 days.

What follows the suspension:

1. Taking the necessary steps to refer the violation to the competent court, or to the committee referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 39, as the case may be, within 5 days of the date of suspension.
2. The court or committee considers, within no more than 10 days of the date of referral, whether the suspension needs to continue.

The regulations set the necessary procedures for this.

The body to which the violation is referred depends on its type: the committees referred to in Article 39 consider violations of the Law and regulations and impose the penalties in Article 38, without prejudice to Article 41. In addition, under Article 43, the violator must still remove the effects of the violation, carry out rehabilitation and pay compensation in accordance with the regulations. If your activity has been suspended, you may wish to consult a lawyer who specializes in environmental law to follow the court's or committee's consideration of whether the suspension continues.