Article 82 of the Saudi Personal Status Law
المادة 82 من نظام الأحوال الشخصية · الفصل الثاني: الطلاق
A challenge to the validity of a divorce is not accepted in the cases in Articles 80 and 81 once the divorce has been documented in accordance with the legal procedures.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
لا يقبل الطعن في صحة الطلاق في الحالات الواردة في المادتين (الثمانين) و(الحادية والثمانين) من هذا النظام متى وثّق وفقاً للإجراءات النظامية.
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 82 explained in plain English
This article sets an important procedural rule concerning a documented divorce. It provides that a challenge to the validity of the divorce is not accepted in the cases in Articles 80 and 81 once it has been documented in accordance with the legal procedures.
The cases intended are:
- Cases in Article 80: divorce by a person who is not of sound mind or not acting voluntarily, divorce by a person whose mind was lost by choice even through something prohibited, divorce by a person whose anger became so intense that he lost control of his words, and divorce during menstruation, postnatal bleeding or a purity period in which her husband had intercourse with her, with his knowledge of her state.
- Cases in Article 81: a conditional divorce meant to urge, prevent, confirm or deny without intending divorce, and breaking an oath by divorce or prohibition without intending divorce.
In practice this means that documenting the divorce in accordance with the legal procedures closes the door to later arguing that the divorce did not take effect for one of these reasons. If the husband or wife believes the divorce took place in one of those cases, this should be raised before it is documented.
This article is linked to Article 90, which requires the husband to document the divorce within 15 days of the irrevocable separation. The article does not set out the legal procedures for documentation, and in these matters it is advisable to consult a lawyer specializing in personal status matters.
Practical example
A husband divorced his wife while angry, and the divorce was then documented in accordance with the legal procedures. Afterwards he wanted to challenge its validity on the ground of extreme anger. Under this article a challenge is not accepted after documentation.
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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Active contributorFrequently asked questions about Article 82 of the Saudi Personal Status Law
Can a divorce be challenged after it is documented?
A challenge to the validity of the divorce in the cases in Articles 80 and 81 is not accepted once it has been documented in accordance with the legal procedures.
Can anger be invoked after the divorce is documented?
Extreme anger is one of the cases in Article 80, and a challenge to the validity of the divorce on that ground is not accepted after it has been documented in accordance with the legal procedures.
Articles this article refers to
- Article 80
Divorce does not take effect in these cases: by a person who is not of sound mind or not acting voluntarily, a person whose mind was lost by choice, a person in extreme anger, and divorce during menstruation, postnatal bleeding or a purity period with intercourse, if the husband knows.
لا يقع الطلاق في الحالات الآتية: 1- طلاق غير العاقل أو غير المختار. 2- طلاق من زال عقله اختياراً ولو بمُحَرَّم. 3- طلاق من اشتد غضبه حتى حال بينه وبين تحكمه في
- Article 81
A divorce made conditional on doing or not doing something takes effect, unless it was meant to urge, prevent, confirm or deny without intending divorce, and breaking an oath by divorce or by prohibition takes effect only if divorce was intended.
1- يقع الطلاق المعلق على فعل شيء أو تركه؛ إلا إذا كان التعليق بنية الحث أو المنع أو التصديق أو التكذيب، ولم يقترن بالتعليق قصد إيقاع الطلاق. 2- لا يقع الطلاق با
More articles on Divorce
- Article 40
The article provides that the dower is owed under a valid marriage contract, confirmed in full by consummation, seclusion or death, and that a woman divorced before consummation is entitled to half the named dower or a consolation gift.
1- يجب المهر بموجب عقد الزواج الصحيح. 2- يتأكد المهر المسمَّى كاملاً -أو مهر المثل- بالدخول، أو الخلوة، أو وفاة أحد الزوجين. 3- تستحق المطلقة قبل الدخول نصف الم
- Article 53
The article provides that maintenance is owed to a woman in her waiting period after a revocable divorce until the period ends, and not to one in her waiting period after an irrevocable divorce unless she is pregnant, in which case she is entitled until she gives birth.
1- تجب النفقة للمعتدة من طلاق رجعي إلى حين انتهاء عدتها. 2- لا تجب النفقة للمعتدة البائن إلا إذا كانت حاملاً، فلها النفقة حتى تضع حملها.
- Article 76
The article sets out the cases in which separation occurs between spouses: divorce, khul', annulment of the marriage contract, the death of either spouse, and li'an.
تحصل الفرقة بين الزوجين في أي من الحالات الآتية: 1- الطلاق. 2- الخُلع. 3- فسخ عقد الزواج. 4- وفاة أحد الزوجين. 5- اللعان بين الزوجين.
- Article 77
The article defines divorce as dissolution of the marriage contract by the husband's will by words indicating it.
الطلاق حل عقد الزواج بإرادة الزوج باللفظ الدال عليه.
- Article 78
The article divides the words indicating divorce into explicit words, being the word divorce and its derivatives, and implicit words, which could mean divorce or something else and take effect only if the husband intended divorce.
اللفظ الدال على الطلاق نوعان: 1- صريح، وهو لفظ الطلاق أو ما تصرف منه. 2- كناية، وهو اللفظ الذي يحتمل الطلاق وغيره إذا نوى به الزوج الطلاق.
- Article 79
Divorce takes effect by speech or by writing, and when unable to do either, by an understood gesture.
يقع الطلاق بالنطق أو بالكتابة، وعند العجز عنهما فبالإشارة المفهومة.
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.