Article 12 of the Saudi Provinces Law

This article sets two limits on the work of governors and heads of centers:

1. A territorial limit: they carry out their duties within the administrative area of their authorities; the governor works within his governorate, and the head of a center within his center.
2. A substantive limit: they carry out their duties within the powers granted to them, and do not exceed them.

The importance of this article is that it prevents overlap of jurisdiction between governorates and centers and prevents exceeding powers. A measure taken by a governor outside his governorate, or outside his powers, would contravene this article. The article itself does not define what the powers contain.

The phrase "and directors of districts" was deleted from this article by Royal Order No. (A/21) dated 30/3/1414 AH.

This article follows Article 11, which requires provincial emirs, governors and heads of centers to reside at their place of work and not leave their area of work except with permission from the direct superior. It is followed by Article 13, which sets the governors' competences: administering their governorates within the competences set out in Article 7 except items (f), (i) and (j), monitoring the work of the heads of centers under them, and submitting periodic reports to the emir of the province.

Anyone who believes a measure was taken beyond the powers can consult a lawyer specialized in administrative cases.