Article 8 of the Saudi Public Prosecution Law

المادة 8 من نظام النيابة العامة

The article bars Public Prosecution members from disclosing secrets they learn through their work, and this ban continues even after they leave service.

Official text (Arabic)

This article has not been amended since the law was issued.

لا يجوز لأعضاء الهيئة إفشاء الأسرار التي يطلعون عليها بحكم عملهم، ولو بعد تركهم الخدمة.

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 8 explained in plain English

This article imposes the duty of keeping secrets on the members of the Authority, and has two elements:

Scope of the secret: everything the member learns through his work, such as the details of investigations, evidence and the personal data of the parties, counts as secrets he may not disclose.
Duration of the duty: the duty does not end when the post ends but continues even after leaving service, whether by retirement, resignation or otherwise.

The article uses the words "the Authority" and "members of the Authority" as worded, and what is meant by them in this Law is the members of the Public Prosecution.

This article protects the parties to cases, whether accused persons, victims or witnesses, and also protects the integrity of the investigations themselves. Someone summoned to the Public Prosecution can assume that what he states remains within the framework of the work.

This article is part of a group of duties specific to the members of the Authority. Article 7 bars them from combining the post with trade or any profession or work inconsistent with the independence and dignity of the work. Article 9 then moves on to the titles of the members' posts and their treatment in salaries and allowances as their counterparts under the Judiciary Law.

The article does not state the penalty for disclosure, so the kind of liability that results from it cannot be inferred from it alone.

Anyone who believes that secrets concerning them in a criminal case have been disclosed should consult a lawyer specialized in criminal cases.

Practical example

A former Public Prosecution member retired, and was then invited to a television program and asked to talk about the details of a case he had investigated and the names of its parties. This article bars him from disclosing the secrets he learned through his work, even after he left service.

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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