Article 19 of the Saudi Juvenile Law

المادة 19 من نظام الأحداث

The article provides that judgments issued against a juvenile are recorded in a special register at the facility and are not recorded against him or her as a prior conviction.

Official text (Arabic)

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

تسجل الأحكام الصادرة في حق الحدث في سجلٍّ خاص لدى الدار ولا تسجل عليه سابقة.

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 19 explained in plain English

This article answers a question that concerns many families: does a judgment against a juvenile leave a prior conviction on his or her record?

The article provides for two things:

The special register: judgments issued against the juvenile are recorded in a special register at the facility, which under Article 1 is a body affiliated with the Ministry of Labor and Social Development.
No prior conviction is recorded: these judgments are not recorded against the juvenile as a prior conviction.

So the judgment remains documented at the facility, but it is not treated as a prior conviction. This reflects the Law's approach of reforming the juvenile and not burdening his or her future with the consequences of what was done as a juvenile.

The wording of the article is general: "judgments issued against the juvenile", without distinguishing between one type of judgment and another. Under Article 1, a juvenile is a person who has turned seven but has not turned eighteen.

The article does not state who may view the special register or how. It follows Article 18, which requires the Law's procedures and provisions to apply to the juvenile in all cases even if he took part with non-juveniles, and precedes Article 20, which regulates conditional release.

A person who needs to check the effect of a judgment issued against him as a juvenile can consult a lawyer specializing in criminal and juvenile cases.

Practical example

A young man in Riyadh is sentenced at sixteen to the measure of social supervision. Years later he applies for a job and worries that the judgment will appear as a prior conviction. Under this article the judgment is recorded in a special register at the facility, and no prior conviction is recorded against him.

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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