In force Last amended 26/5/1443 AH
Saudi Law of Procedure before the Board of Grievances
نظام المرافعات أمام ديوان المظالم
The law covers general provisions (scope, jurisdiction of the circuits, time limits and service of papers), filing and registering cases, hearing and judging them, objections to judgments, appeal before the administrative courts of appeal, reconsideration, objection before the Supreme Administrative Court, and final provisions.
- Articles
- 63
- In force
- 63
- Amended
- 4
- Issued
- 22/1/1435 AH
Issued by: مرسوم ملكي رقم ( م/3 ) بتاريخ 22 / 1 / 1435
Each article shows the official Arabic text, which is the only legally binding version, followed by our plain-English explanation.
Browse Law of Procedure before the Board of Grievances by topic
Territorial Jurisdiction and Notification before the Board of Grievances4 articlesFiling and Registering an Administrative Case3 articlesGrievance against an Administrative Decision and Filing Deadlines2 articlesStay of Execution of an Administrative Decision3 articlesDisciplinary Case4 articlesHearing the Case and Sessions in the Administrative Court9 articlesAbsence of Plaintiff or Defendant3 articlesRecusal and Withdrawal of the Judge2 articlesIssuing and Enforcing an Administrative Judgment8 articlesTime to Object to Board of Grievances Judgments2 articlesAppeal before the Administrative Court of Appeal8 articlesReconsideration of Administrative Judgments3 articlesObjection before the Supreme Administrative Court16 articlesRegulations and Entry into Force of the Board of Grievances Procedure Law4 articles
Articles of the Saudi Law of Procedure before the Board of Grievances
الباب الأول: أحكام عامةArticles 1–4
- Article 1The article requires the Board of Grievances courts to apply Sharia and the statutes that do not conflict with it, and to follow the procedures of this Law when hearing cases.
- Article 2The article sets territorial jurisdiction by the location of the defendant, the location of the defendant body's branch if the case concerns that branch, or the employee's workplace in a disciplinary case.
- Article 3The article allows notification of deadlines and procedures before the Board of Grievances by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt or by one of the electronic means in the Law of Sharia Procedure.Amended
- Article 4The article requires a notification before the Board of Grievances to contain the particulars in the Law of Sharia Procedure, and allows the Administrative Judiciary Council to add other particulars, means and attachments.Amended
الباب الثاني: رفع الدعوى وقيدهاArticles 5–9
- Article 5An administrative case is filed by a statement of claim lodged with the competent court. It includes specified particulars and copies for the number of defendants, along with details of the decision and the grievance in certain cases.
- Article 6The article regulates registration of the statement of claim, the 30-day period to complete deficiencies, setting the hearing date, and notifying the Ministry of Finance, the General Court of Audit and others of the date.
- Article 7A disciplinary case is filed by lodging its statement and all the investigation papers with the competent court. The statement contains the employee's details, the violation, its place, its evidence and the statutory provisions to be applied.
- Article 8The article regulates the mandatory grievance before filing an administrative case and its deadlines, the deadlines for filing the case afterward, acceptance of urgent annulment cases, and non-hearing of some cases after ten years.
- Article 9Filing an annulment case does not stop execution of the administrative decision, but the court may order a stay on request if it sees that execution would cause effects that cannot be remedied.
الباب الثالث: النظر في الدعوى والحكم فيهاArticles 10–32
- Article 10The article makes the procedures for hearing the case and the pleadings written as a rule, while allowing the circuit to hear statements and defenses orally and record in the session minutes what it sees fit.
- Article 11The article allows, under a decision of the Administrative Judiciary Council, one of the circuit's judges to prepare the case, and the parties to exchange memoranda through a court specialist.
- Article 12Circuit sessions are valid only with all its judges present, and the prosecution representative in a disciplinary case. If the circuit is incomplete, the President of the Administrative Judiciary Council assigns someone to complete it for no more than 60 days.
- Article 13The article gives the presiding judge authority to manage and control the session. He may order offensive wording struck, remove those who disrupt it and detain them for 24 hours or fine them up to SAR 1,000, and have a record made of offenses.
- Article 14Any party to the case may obtain copies of its papers and documents unless the presiding judge decides otherwise, and no paper may be relied on unless the parties are allowed to see it.
- Article 15The article regulates the claimant's absence from the first session, striking the case and treating it as if it had never been after 60 days, and adjournment when the defendant is absent, followed by a judgment treated as in his presence.
- Article 16Proceedings are treated as in the parties' presence if either attends any session or the defendant submits a defense memorandum, and new requests may not be made or amended in the absent party's absence.
- Article 17In a disciplinary case, the employee may attend sessions himself or appoint an agent and defend in writing or orally; the court may question him, and if he does not attend after notification it proceeds and its judgment is treated as in his presence.
- Article 18The circuit's secretary drafts the session minutes under its president's supervision, including the judges' names, the time and place, those present and the procedures, and the judges, secretary and parties sign them.
- Article 19If the court sees during the pleadings that supplementary investigation is necessary, it carries it out itself or assigns one of its judges to do so.
- Article 20The article empowers the Administrative Judiciary Council to issue the rules on using experts in cases and setting their fees.
- Article 21A request to recuse a judge is made by a reasoned petition; the judge answers within 5 days, the court president or the President of the Administrative Judiciary Council decides it, and the request suspends the hearing of the case.
- Article 22A judge who has grounds that make him feel embarrassed to hear a case may submit his withdrawal to the President of the Administrative Judiciary Council to decide.
- Article 23The court rules on the facts in the disciplinary statement of claim and may return the case papers to the prosecuting authority to investigate facts not in it, or other employees, if the papers contain such matters.
- Article 24If the disciplinary court sees that a fact constitutes an offense, it refers it to the competent authority and rules on the case, unless its judgment depends on the criminal case, in which case it suspends the case until that is decided.
- Article 25Judgments are issued by majority of the circuit's judges and attributed to the circuit; the dissenter states his view and reasons, the majority answers, and this is recorded in minutes that only the court hearing the objection may see.
- Article 26The article requires the signed draft judgment to be deposited in the case file when pronounced, and a date set for delivering a copy of it, no later than 24 hours for urgent judgments and 15 days for others.
- Article 27The article sets the particulars the judgment copy must contain, from the court and parties to the facts, requests, defenses, reasons and operative part, and requires it to be signed and deposited before the delivery date.
- Article 28The competent employee signs the non-executory copy of the judgment and stamps it with the court's seal; it is delivered to those concerned, and to others with the court president's permission.
- Article 29The copy of the judgment copy under which enforcement is carried out bears the executory formula, is signed and stamped, and is delivered only to the party who benefits from enforcement.
- Article 30The article sets the executory formula for judgments against the administrative authority and disciplinary judgments, and requires the King's ratification before dismissal judgments for employees of Grade 14 and above or equivalent are enforced.
- Article 31The article allows objecting to the president of the court if the first executory copy is refused, and a second executory copy is delivered only if the first is lost, with the judgment debtor notified.
- Article 32The article provides that judgments annulling administrative decisions are binding on everyone.
الباب الرابع: الاعتراض على الاحكامArticles 33–59
- Article 33The period to object to judgments is 30 days from receiving the judgment copy or the set receipt date, after which the judgment becomes final; certain judgments against the administration must be reviewed if not appealed.
- Article 34The article provides that a judgment debtor who objects alone must not end up worse off because of his objection than under the judgment objected to.
- Article 35The article provides that the administrative courts' procedures apply to an objection before the administrative courts of appeal and the Supreme Administrative Court where there is no specific provision.
- Article 36The article explains that an appeal is filed by a statement lodged with the administrative court that issued the judgment, and sets its contents, the period for sending it to the administrative court of appeal and its registration.
- Article 37The article provides that an appeal transfers the case in its state before the judgment only as to what was appealed, and the court hears it on new and earlier evidence and defenses.
- Article 38The article provides that appealing a judgment ending the dispute includes the earlier judgments, and appealing the alternative request includes the main request, with the party who won it to be joined.
- Article 39The article requires the administrative court of appeal, if it annuls the judgment on the main request, to return the case to the administrative court to rule on the alternative requests.
- Article 40The article bars acceptance of new requests on appeal and requires the court to reject them on its own motion, though increases in compensation that fall due after the final requests may be added.
- Article 41The article bars joining on appeal someone who was not a party to the case, except to reveal the truth, and limits intervention to someone who asks to join one of the opponents.
- Article 42The article allows the respondent, before the pleadings close, to file a cross-appeal that follows the main appeal and lapses with it, by the usual procedures or by a memorandum stating its grounds.
- Article 43The article allows requesting reconsideration of final judgments of the administrative courts and administrative courts of appeal in the cases provided for in the Law of Sharia Procedure.
- Article 44The article explains that a request for reconsideration is filed by a statement with the court that issued the judgment under the procedures for filing a case, containing the judgment's particulars, a summary of it and the grounds of the request.
- Article 45The Article explains how to file an objection before the Supreme Administrative Court by a statement lodged with the Administrative Court of Appeal that issued the judgment, and limits the grounds to those in the statement, except public-order grounds.
- Article 46The Article specifies the documents that must accompany an objection statement before the Supreme Administrative Court: proof of the representative's capacity, copies of the statement, copies of the judgments, and supporting documents.
- Article 47The Article requires the Administrative Court of Appeal to send the objection file to the Supreme Administrative Court by the next day at the latest, and allows the Supreme Court to join the case file.
- Article 48The Article provides that the competent department of the Supreme Administrative Court registers the objection on the day it arrives, and that the opposing party is notified of the objection statement.
- Article 49The Article provides that an objection before the Supreme Administrative Court does not stay execution of the judgment except by its order under conditions, while an objection to a judgment dismissing an employee stays its execution.
- Article 50The Article sets the deadlines for exchanging memoranda in an objection before the Supreme Administrative Court: the opposing party's defense, then the objector's reply, then the opposing party's remarks, each within thirty days.
- Article 51The Article allows the opposing party, before its defense period ends, to request that a party to whom the objection was not directed be brought into the case, and gives the added party thirty days for its defense.
- Article 52The Article allows any party to the original case who was not notified of the objection statement to intervene and request dismissal of the objection, by a defense memorandum lodged before the defense period ends.
- Article 53The Article bars acceptance of any memorandum or paper after its deadline has passed, and requires the competent department to draw up a record of the date of submission, the submitter's name and capacity, and to keep it in the objection file.
- Article 54The Article governs the study of the objection through a report prepared by one of the circuit's judges, and explains when the circuit orders the objection inadmissible and when it sets a session to hear it, with power to exclude some grounds.
- Article 55The Article requires the parties to the objection who lodged their memoranda to be notified of the date of the session to hear the objection at least fifteen days before it is held.
- Article 56The Article provides that the Supreme Administrative Court decides the objection without oral argument, after the judge who studied the objection reads the report he prepared under Article 54.
- Article 57The Article allows the circuit to hear the statements of the parties to the objection if it finds oral argument necessary, with no new grounds except those relating to public order, and exceptionally allows supplementary memoranda.
- Article 58The Article explains the consequences of the Supreme Administrative Court setting a judgment aside: deciding jurisdiction, referral to the issuing court with other judges, or ruling on the merits on the second setting aside.
- Article 59The Article bars objections to judgments of the Supreme Administrative Court, except a request for reconsideration by a person against whom the judgment is binding and who was neither brought into the case nor intervened in it.
الباب الخامس: أحكام ختاميةArticles 60–63
- Article 60The Article provides that the Law of Sharia Procedure and the Law of Evidence apply to cases before the Board of Grievances courts where the Law of Procedure before the Board of Grievances has no provision, and insofar as they do not conflict with the nature of the administrative dispute.Amended M/43
- Article 61The Article provides that the Administrative Judiciary Council is the body that issues the regulations necessary to implement the Law of Procedure before the Board of Grievances.
- Article 62The Article repeals the rules of procedure and proceedings before the Board of Grievances issued by Council of Ministers Resolution No. 190 dated 16/11/1409 AH, and everything that conflicts with this Law.
- Article 63The Article provides that the Law of Procedure before the Board of Grievances takes effect from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
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