Article 22 of the Saudi Law of Legal Practice

المادة 22 من نظام المحاماة · الباب الثاني: واجبات المحامين وحقوقهم

The Article requires a lawyer to return the power of attorney and original documents to his client when the agency ends and he asks, and allows him to keep them until the due fees and the cost of copies are paid.

Official text (Arabic)

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

على المحامي عند انقضاء التوكيل ، أن يرد لموكله عند طلبه سند التوكيل والمستندات والأوراق الأصلية، ومع ذلك يجوز له إذا لم يكن قد حصل على أتعابه أن يستخرج على نفقة موكله صورا من جميع المحررات التي تصلح سندا للمطالبة وأن يبقي لديه المستندات والأوراق الأصلية حتى يؤدي له الموكل الأتعاب الحالّة ومصروفات استخراج الصور. ولا يلزم المحامي أن يسلم موكله مسودات الأوراق التي قدمها في الدعوى، ولا الكتب الواردة إليه، ومع ذلك يجب على المحامي أن يعطي موكله صورا من هذه الأوراق بناء على طلب الموكل وعلى نفقته.

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 22 explained in plain English

This Article regulates what happens to the client's papers held by the lawyer after the relationship between them ends.

The rule: when the agency ends, the lawyer must return to his client, on his request, the power of attorney and the original documents and papers.

The exception where the fees have not been paid: if the lawyer has not received his fees, he may:

make, at his client's expense, copies of all instruments that can serve as a basis for his claim;
and keep the original documents and papers with him until the client pays him the due fees and the cost of making the copies.

Note that the right is tied to fees that are due, that is, payable.

Drafts and correspondence: the lawyer is not required to hand his client the drafts of the papers he submitted in the case, or the letters received by him. Even so, he must give his client copies of them at the client's request and at his expense.

The Article balances the client's right to recover his papers against the lawyer's right to secure his fees. It is connected to Article 21 bis, which requires the licensee to obtain basic membership in the Saudi Bar Association, and to Article 23, which bars the lawyer from disclosing his client's secrets even after his agency ends. In a dispute over papers or fees, it is advisable to consult a lawyer specializing in the laws regulating the legal profession.

Practical example

A lawyer's agency for an establishment in Riyadh ended, and the establishment asked to recover its original contracts but has not paid the fees due. The lawyer may make, at the establishment's expense, copies of the instruments that can serve as a basis for his claim, and keep the originals until the due fees and the cost of the copies are paid.

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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