Article 23 of the Saudi Endowments Authority Law

This article is a general rule that governs everything the Authority does: it must comply with the endowers' conditions in all its dealings and investments.

Elements of the provision:

• Breadth: the obligation covers "all dealings and investments," so it is not limited to spending the proceeds but extends to selling, leasing, investing and more.
• The reference: the endowers' conditions; the endower's condition under Article 1 is the wording the endower sets regarding the endowment, its income, its spending, its supervisor or the beneficiary.
• The limit: compliance with the endower's condition is to the extent it does not conflict with the rules of Islamic Sharia and the laws in force. If a condition conflicts with a Sharia or legal rule, compliance with it is not required under this text.

Why does this matter to the endower? Because it reassures anyone thinking of creating an endowment that the public body concerned with endowments is bound by law to respect his will as he wrote it, within the limits of Sharia and the laws.

And why does it matter to the beneficiary? Because he can rely on this article if he believes an act of the Authority concerning the endowment violated the endower's condition.

This article comes after Article 22 on the Authority's staff, and before Article 24, which bars Board members, staff and their relatives up to the fourth degree from any interest in the Authority's projects or from dealing in the funds of endowments it supervises or manages.

Anyone with a disagreement over the interpretation of an endower's condition or the extent of the Authority's compliance with it would do best to consult a lawyer specializing in endowment cases.