Article 131 of the Saudi Law of Sharia Procedure
المادة 131 من نظام المرافعات الشرعية · الباب التاسع: إجراءات الإثبات
The article requires the court to call the expert within 3 days of the deposit, explain his task and give him a copy of the appointment decision, and allows him to review the case file but not copy from it without permission.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
خلال الأيام الثلاثة التالية لإيداع المبلغ تدعو المحكمة الخبير وتبين له مهمته وفقًا لمنطوق قرار التكليف ثم تسلم له صورة منه لإنفاذ مقتضاه. وللخبير أن يطلع على الأوراق المودعة في ملف الدعوى دون أن ينقل شيئًا منها إلا بإذن المحكمة.
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 131 explained in plain English
This article regulates the step that follows the deposit of the expert's amount, which is formally handing the expert his task.
Duties of the court: Within the three days following the deposit of the amount, the court does the following:
- It calls the expert.
- It explains his task to him according to the operative part of the appointment decision, that is, as stated in the decision itself without addition.
- It gives him a copy of the decision so that he can carry out what it requires.
The expert's access to the papers: The expert may review the papers filed in the case file, but he may not take anything from them unless the court permits. This balances the expert's need to know the details of the case against protecting the parties' documents.
This article is linked to the provisions on expertise that precede and follow it: Article 130 explains how the expert is chosen, whether by agreement of the parties or by the court's choice, and Article 132 allows an expert who is not attached to the court to ask to be relieved of the task within the three days following his receipt of a copy of his appointment decision.
Handing the expert a copy of the decision matters because the date of receipt is the date from which the period mentioned in Article 132 is counted. A person with a question about how an expert's work proceeds in his case may consult a lawyer who specializes in litigation and court procedure.
Practical example
A company in Riyadh deposited the advance for the fees of an accounting expert in a dispute with one of its suppliers. Within the three days following the deposit, the court called the expert, explained to him that his task was to review the invoices and account statements as stated in the appointment decision, and gave him a copy of the decision. The expert reviewed the documents in the case file, and when he needed a copy of some of them, he asked the court's permission.
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 131 of the Saudi Law of Sharia Procedure
When does the court call the expert?
Within the three days following the deposit of the expert's amount.
Is the expert entitled to take copies of the case papers?
He may review the papers filed in the case file, but he may not take anything from them unless the court permits.
More articles on Evidence Procedures
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The article makes Arabic the official language of the courts, requires hearing non-Arabic speakers through an interpreter, and requires an approved translation from a licensed office for foreign-language papers.
اللغة العربية هي اللغة الرسمية للمحاكم؛ وتسمع المحكمة أقوال الخصوم والشهود ونحوهم من غير الناطقين باللغة العربية عن طريق مترجم، وتقدم ترجمة معتمدة من مكتب مرخص
- Article 67
If a defendant refuses to answer, or answers with something unrelated to the claim, the judge repeats the request for a proper answer three times in the same session; if the defendant persists, he treats them as refusing to answer after a warning.
إذا امتنع المدعى عليه عن الجواب كليًّا، أو أجاب بجواب غير ملاق للدعوى؛ كرر عليه القاضي طلب الجواب الصحيح ثلاثًا في الجلسة نفسها، فإذا أصر على ذلك عدّه ناكلًا بع
- Article 74
The presiding judge puts the questions to the parties, witnesses and others; members and parties may ask him to put their questions, and he may delegate this to a member.
رئيس الجلسة هو الذي يتولى توجيه الأسئلة إلى الخصوم والشهود وغيرهم ممن له صلة بالدعوى، ولأعضاء الدائرة المشتركين معه في الجلسة والخصوم أن يطلبوا منه توجيه ما يري
- Article 101
The article requires that facts to be proved during pleadings be related to the case, material to it, and admissible.
يجب أن تكون الوقائع المراد إثباتها أثناء المرافعة متعلقة بالدعوى منتجة فيها جائزًا قبولها.
- Article 102
If a party's evidence is in a place outside the court's jurisdiction, the court must delegate the judge of that place to hear and vet the evidence.
إذا كانت بينة أحد الخصوم في مكان خارج عن نطاق اختصاص المحكمة، فعليها أن تستخلف القاضي الذي يقع ذلك المكان في نطاق اختصاصه لسماع تلك البينة وتعديلها.
- Article 103
The court may withdraw from evidentiary procedures it ordered, provided it states the reasons in the record, and may decline to adopt a procedure's result, provided it states the reasons in its judgment.
للمحكمة أن تعدل عما أمرت به من إجراءات الإثبات، بشرط أن تبين أسباب العدول في الضبط. ويجوز لها كذلك ألا تأخذ بنتيجة الإجراء، بشرط أن تبين أسباب ذلك في حكمها.
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.