Article 56 of the Saudi Law of Universities

This article distributes responsibility for applying the Law of Universities on two levels:

First: responsibility for implementation

All the councils provided for in the Law are responsible for implementing it. Each council, from the Board of Trustees to the department council, is responsible for applying the provisions of the Law within its competence.

Second: responsibility for the soundness of implementation

The Universities Affairs Council is responsible for the soundness of implementation. That is, it is responsible for verifying that application proceeds correctly.

The Universities Affairs Council, according to Article 1, is the authority competent to regulate university affairs, set their policies and issue the regulations governing them, so assigning responsibility for the soundness of implementation to it is consistent with its position at the head of the university system.

Note the difference between the two expressions: "responsible for implementing it" for all councils, and "responsible for the soundness of implementation" for the Universities Affairs Council. The first concerns actual application, and the second concerns oversight of the correctness of that application.

The article does not state how the Universities Affairs Council exercises this responsibility or what its tools are.

This article is linked to Article 55, which prevents a member of any council from attending discussion of matters relating to himself or his relatives up to the second degree, one of the safeguards for the soundness of the councils' work. Article 57 then provides that this Law replaces the Law of the Higher Education Council and Universities issued by Royal Decree No. M/8 dated 4/6/1414 AH and repeals all provisions that conflict with it.

The article is organizational and does not give individuals direct rights.