Article 20 of the Saudi Standards and Quality Law

This article balances two matters: protecting the secrets of the establishments inspected, and the competent bodies' need for information.

1. The duty of confidentiality: the inspector must keep confidential the information he obtains by virtue of his work. Information he learns during inspection and detection, such as production details or commercial data, he may not disclose.

2. Limits of confidentiality: maintaining confidentiality does not prevent the competent bodies from disclosing the necessary information. Confidentiality is not absolute, and the disclosure meant here is what the competent bodies do with the necessary information. The text does not identify these bodies or the cases of disclosure.

Why is this article important? Article 19 prohibits preventing inspectors or obstructing them from their work. In return for these powers, this article reassures establishments that what the inspector learns is protected by a duty of confidentiality.

Practical effect: if an establishment finds that an inspector disclosed information he obtained during his work to anyone other than the competent bodies, that violates this article. The text does not specify a penalty for this violation.

Someone who believes his information was disclosed in violation of this article may consult a lawyer who specializes in administrative cases.