Article 8 of the Saudi Human Rights Commission Statute
المادة 8 من تنظيم هيئة حقوق الإنسان
The article provides that the Commission board's decisions and recommendations are issued by a majority of the votes of the members present who have the right to vote, with the side the chair of the meeting voted with prevailing in a tie.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
يصدر مجلس الهيئة قراراته وتوصياته بأغلبية أصوات أعضائه الحاضرين الذين لهم حق التصويت؛ وعند تساوي الأصوات يرجح الجانب الذي صوت معه رئيس الاجتماع.
This is the official Arabic wording, the only legally binding version. We do not translate the law itself; the explanation below is ours. Official source: Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers
Article 8 explained in plain English
This article sets out how the board of the Human Rights Commission issues its decisions and recommendations.
The rule: decisions and recommendations are issued by a majority of the votes of the members present who have the right to vote.
This rule has two limits:
- What counts is the votes of those present, not the total members of the board.
- Only the vote of someone who has the right to vote is counted; the phrase "who have the right to vote" means that some who attend the meeting may not have that right, and the article itself does not say who they are.
In a tie: the side that the chair of the meeting voted with prevails, that is, whoever actually chairs the meeting, whether the President or his substitute.
Note that the article covers both decisions and recommendations, so both are issued by the same majority.
This article is linked to Article 9, which makes the President responsible for managing the Commission and representing it, and gives him powers including supervising preparation of the regulations, the annual reports and the draft budget before referring them to the Commission's board, and submitting the Kingdom's human rights reports to the Prime Minister after the board approves them; that approval is issued under the voting rule in this article.
Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.
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Frequently asked questions about Article 8 of the Saudi Human Rights Commission Statute
How are the decisions of the Human Rights Commission's board issued?
By a majority of the votes of the members present who have the right to vote.
What happens in a tie in the Commission's board?
The side that the chair of the meeting voted with prevails.
More articles on Commission Board Formation and Meetings
- Article 6
The article permits the Commission's board to invite representatives of ministries, government bodies and civil institutions when studying subjects relating to those bodies.
لمجلس الهيئة دعوة ممثلين من الوزارات والأجهزة الحكومية الأخرى والمؤسسات الأهلية عند دراسة الموضوعات ذات العلاقة بهذه الجهات.
- Article 7
The article provides that the Commission's board meets at least once a month and whenever needed, and a meeting is valid only if a majority of members attend, including the president or deputy.
يجتمع مجلس الهيئة مرة كل شهر على الأقل، وكلما دعت الحاجة إلى ذلك بدعوة من رئيسه أو نائبه، أو بطلب من ثلث أعضائه؛ ولا يعد الاجتماع نظامياً إلا إذا حضره أغلبية أع
The texts are reproduced from the official website of the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers for reference; where they differ, the officially published Arabic text prevails. This content is not legal advice.