Article 3 of the Saudi Juvenile Law

المادة 3 من نظام الأحداث

The article provides that a juvenile's age is calculated by the Hijri calendar based on any official document, and allows the court to refer him to a competent medical body to estimate his age.

Official text (Arabic)

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

لأغراض تطبيق النظام, يكون احتساب السن بالتقويم الهجري استناداً إلى ما هو مدون في أي وثيقة رسمية، وللمحكمة عند نظر القضية إحالة الحدث إلى الجهة الطبية المختصة لتقدير سنّه.

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 3 explained in plain English

Age is the basis on which the provisions of the Juvenile Law rest: Article 1 defines a juvenile as someone who has completed seven years and has not completed eighteen, and Article 2 prevents holding someone who has not completed seven years liable. This article therefore explains how age is calculated:

By the Hijri calendar: for the purposes of applying the law, age is calculated in Hijri years, not Gregorian.
Based on an official document: age is taken from what is recorded in any official document, without specifying a particular type of document.
Medical estimation: when hearing the case, the court may refer the juvenile to the competent medical body to estimate his age.

Medical estimation is discretionary for the court; that is, it resorts to it as it sees fit when hearing the case. The article does not state the cases that call for this or the method of estimation.

This calculation has a practical effect, because the Hijri year is shorter than the Gregorian, so a person may have completed a certain age by the Hijri calculation before completing it by the Gregorian one, and this may determine whether he is a juvenile or not. Article 4 then regulates procedures for reports by juveniles and their testimony. Anyone who needs to verify a juvenile's age in an existing case would do best to consult a lawyer specializing in criminal cases and juvenile cases.

Practical example

A young man in Riyadh is accused in a case, and the date of birth recorded in his ID means he completed eighteen years by the Hijri calculation a few days before the date of the act. Under this article, the Hijri calculation is adopted, so if it is proven that he had completed eighteen years at the time of the act, he is not a juvenile. If he did not have a clear official document, the court may refer him to a medical body to estimate his age.

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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