Article 48 of the Saudi Law of Sharia Procedure
المادة 48 من نظام المرافعات الشرعية · الباب الثالث: رفع الدعوى وقيدها
If the court has set a hearing for two litigants and they appear at a time other than the one set and ask for their dispute to be heard, the court must grant their request if possible.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
إذا عينت المحكمة جلسة لشخصين متداعيين، ثم حضرا في غير الوقت المعين وطلبا النظر في خصومتهما، فعليها أن تجيب هذا الطلب إن أمكن.
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 48 explained in plain English
This article deals with a practical situation: the court has set a hearing to hear a claim between two people, then both appear together at a time other than the one set for the hearing and ask for their dispute to be heard.
The rule: the court must grant this request if possible. The starting point is to respond to the parties' wish to speed up the hearing of their dispute, but this is limited by what is possible, as the court may not be able to because of other hearings or other circumstances.
Conditions for applying the article:
- The court must have set a hearing for the litigants.
- Both parties must appear at a time other than the one set.
- They must jointly ask for their dispute to be heard.
This article is close to Article 47, which allows the court to hear the claim at once if the two litigants appear of their own accord and ask for their dispute to be heard. The difference is that Article 47 deals with appearing at the outset, while this article deals with a claim for which a hearing has already been set.
The article does not give either party alone the right to bring forward the hearing date; it is conditional on their appearing and asking together.
Practical example
A hearing was set for Hassan and his brother two weeks away in a dispute over dividing a sum of money between them. They then agreed to speed things up and came together to the court before the date and asked for their dispute to be heard. Under this article the court must grant their request if that is possible.
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 48 of the Saudi Law of Sharia Procedure
Can the hearing date be brought forward if both parties appear together?
If the two litigants appear at a time other than the one set and ask for their dispute to be heard, the court must grant their request if possible.
Can one party alone ask for this?
The article speaks of the two litigants appearing together and jointly asking for their dispute to be heard.
More articles on Hearing Procedures
- Article 6
Article 6 requires a clerk to attend with the judge at hearings and in all case procedures to draft the record and sign it with him, and lets the judge do so himself if the clerk cannot attend.
يجب أن يحضر مع القاضي في الجلسات وفي جميـع إجراءات الدعوى كاتب يحرر محضر الجلسة ويوقعه مع القاضي، وإذا تعذرحضور الكاتب فللقاضي تولي الإجراء وتحرير المحضر.
- 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 53
If it appears to the court that the agent asks for extensions too often on the pretext of consulting his principal in order to stall, it may require the principal himself or another agent.
إذا ظهر للمحكمة من أحد الوكلاء كثرة الاستمهالات بحجة سؤال موكله بقصد المماطلة، فلها حق طلب الموكل بنفسه لإتمام المرافعة أو توكيل وكيل آخر.
- Article 59
Someone who attends thirty minutes before the set end of the hearing is not considered absent if the hearing has not convened, and someone who attends while the hearing is still in session is considered present.
في تطبيق الأحكام السابقة، لا يعد غائبًا- والجلسة لم تنعقد- من حضر قبل الموعد المحدد لانتهاء الجلسة بثلاثين دقيقة، على أنه إذا حضر والجلسة لا زالت منعقدة فيعد حا
- Article 61
The number of judges required by law must attend the pleading hearings; if short, the court president assigns someone to complete it, and if that is not possible the president of the Supreme Judicial Council does.
يجب أن يحضر جلسات المرافعة في القضية العدد اللازم نظامًا من القضاة، فإن لم يتوافر العدد اللازم فيكلف رئيس المحكمة أحد قضاتها لإكمال النصاب، فإن تعذر ذلك فيكلف ر
- Article 62
The recording clerk prepares for each day a list of the claims scheduled, ordered by their hearing time, and it is announced, after being shown to the judge, on the board provided for it before the day of the hearings.
على كاتب الضبط أن يعد لكل يوم قائمة بالدعاوى التي تعرض فيه مرتبة حسب الوقت المعين لنظرها، وبعد عرض القائمة على القاضي تعلن في اللوحة المعدة لذلك قبل يوم الجلسات
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.