Article 14 of the Saudi Franchise Law

This article deals with the case of the franchisor's silence in response to a request for assignment. If the franchisee submits a written request to assign the franchise agreement and business to a third party, or to change the person controlling him, and the franchisor does not respond to it in writing, he is treated as having consented by operation of law.

The conditions of this provision as they appear in the text:

• The request must be in writing and submitted by the franchisee.
• The franchisor must not respond in writing; an oral response is not enough on the face of the text.
• This takes place as the Implementing Regulations specify; the article does not state the period after which silence counts as consent, and it is known from the Regulations.

The article provides that this is subject to the provisions of Article 13. Article 13 requires the franchisee, unless the agreement provides otherwise, to obtain the franchisor's approval before assigning or changing the controller, and prevents the franchisor from objecting or withdrawing his approval except in specified cases, including: the assignee's financial resources being insufficient, his inability to meet the franchisor's reasonable requirements, his not meeting the franchisor's criteria, his not agreeing in writing to assume the obligations, the franchisee's not paying the consideration due, or any case the Implementing Regulations specify.

The purpose of this article is that the franchisee's assignment is not held up because the franchisor ignores his request. To calculate the period precisely in a particular case, it is advisable to refer to the Implementing Regulations or consult a lawyer who specializes in commercial cases.