Article 15 of the Saudi Judicial Costs Law

المادة 15 من نظام التكاليف القضائية

Judicial costs are reduced to a quarter if settlement is made before the court after the first hearing ends and before judgment, subject to the equal sharing rule.

Official text (Arabic)

This article has not been amended since the law was issued.

مع مراعاة ما تقضي به الفقرة (2) من المادة (الثالثة عشرة)، تُخفض التكاليف القضائية إلى الربع في حال الصلح أمام المحكمة، متى كان الصلح بعد انتهاء الجلسة الأولى وقبل الحكم في الدعوى.

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 15 explained in plain English

This Article encourages the parties to settle even after the case has begun to be heard, by giving them a large reduction in judicial costs.

Conditions of the reduction:

The settlement is before the court.
It takes place after the first hearing ends.
And before judgment is given in the case.

If these conditions are met, judicial costs are reduced to a quarter.

The Article begins with the phrase "subject to what paragraph (2) of Article (13) provides", and that paragraph provides that if a case ends in settlement, its parties bear the costs equally unless they agree otherwise. So the reduction lowers the amount, and the rule of Article 13 decides how it is split between the parties.

If the settlement is made early, Article 16 deals with cases of refunding costs paid, including cases that end in settlement before the first hearing is adjourned. Timing makes a difference: settlement before the first hearing is adjourned falls within the refund cases in Article 16, and settlement after it ends and before judgment reduces costs to a quarter under this Article.

Before signing a settlement agreement, you can consult a lawyer specialized in litigation and procedure to draft a clear term on costs.

Practical example

Yasser filed a case against a contractor in Riyadh whose costs were assessed at SAR 20,000. After the second hearing they settled before the court before judgment. The costs are reduced to a quarter, becoming SAR 5,000, and they bear them equally (SAR 2,500 each) unless they agree on another distribution.

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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