Article 1 of the Saudi General Warehouses Law

This is an opening article that sets out the purpose of the Law, which has three parts:

1. Setting rules that regulate the work of the general warehouse.
2. Clarifying the nature of the goods that are stored and kept.
3. Defining the rights and obligations of the warehouse and the storage fee.

To understand the scope of the Law, it helps to refer to Article 2, which defines the key terms:

• General warehouse: the place the warehouse keeper designates for depositing and keeping goods for a fixed period until they are delivered, in return for a known fee.
• Deposit in warehouses: a contract under which the warehouse keeper undertakes to receive goods to store and keep them for the account of the depositor, or of whoever acquires ownership or possession of them under endorsable documents issued by the general warehouse.
• Storage receipt and pledge document: the two documents issued by the general warehouse keeper that contain the details of the goods.

So the Law does not concern a private warehouse in which a merchant keeps his own goods for himself, but the general warehouse that keeps the goods of others for a fee and issues documents representing the goods. The article itself does not set specific obligations, but outlines the framework the following articles address. Anyone considering setting up or dealing with a general warehouse may seek the help of a lawyer specializing in commercial matters.