Article 139 of the Saudi Law of Sharia Procedure
المادة 139 من نظام المرافعات الشرعية · الباب التاسع: إجراءات الإثبات
The article divides written evidence into an official paper, in which a public employee records what was done before him, and an ordinary paper bearing the signature, seal or thumbprint of the person it came from.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
الكتابة التي يكون بها الإثبات إما أن تدون في ورقة رسمية أو في ورقة عادية. والورقة الرسمية هي التي يثبت فيها موظف عام أو شخص مكلف بخدمة عامة ما تم على يديه أو ما تلقاه من ذوي الشأن، وذلك طبقًا للأوضاع النظامية وفي حدود سلطته واختصاصه.
أما الورقة العادية فهي التي يكون عليها توقيع مَنْ صدرت منه أو ختمه أو بصمته.
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 139 explained in plain English
This article lays the foundation for proof by writing. It divides the papers by which a right is proved into two kinds: official and ordinary.
First: the official paper. This is a paper in which a public employee or a person assigned to a public service records:
- what was done before him, or
- what he received from the interested parties.
This must be in accordance with the legal formalities and within the limits of his authority and jurisdiction. If the employee goes beyond his jurisdiction or does not follow the legal formalities, the paper does not have the character of an official paper under this definition.
Second: the ordinary paper. This is a paper bearing the signature, seal or thumbprint of the person it came from. Any one of the three is enough for the paper to be an ordinary paper attributed to its author.
The distinction between the two kinds matters because the Law attaches different rules to each. Among them, Article 141 provides that an official paper may be challenged only by alleging forgery, unless it states something contrary to the provisions of Islamic Sharia. The article is also linked to Article 140, which lets the court assess the effect of scraping, erasure, interlineation and other physical defects in a paper, and to Article 138, which provides that the expert's opinion does not bind the court.
A person who wants to know what value a paper in his hand may have in a particular case may consult a lawyer who specializes in litigation and court procedure.
Practical example
Khalid borrowed an amount from his friend and wrote him a paper acknowledging the debt and signed it. This is an ordinary paper. But if they documented the loan with a competent official authority and the competent employee recorded it within the limits of his jurisdiction and in accordance with the legal formalities, the paper is an official paper.
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 139 of the Saudi Law of Sharia Procedure
What is the difference between an official paper and an ordinary paper?
In an official paper, a public employee or a person assigned to a public service records what was done before him or what he received from the interested parties, within his authority and jurisdiction. An ordinary paper bears the signature, seal or thumbprint of the person it came from.
Is a thumbprint enough for a paper to count as evidence?
A paper is an ordinary paper if it bears the signature, seal or thumbprint of the person it came from, so a thumbprint is one of the things that makes it so.
More articles on Evidence Procedures
- Article 23
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.