The council of ministers of Saudi Arabia approved a new law issued under the Royal Decree No. M16 on Judicial Fees. This law was to be put into effect one hundred and eighty days after its publication in the gazette; thus, it came into effect on March 14 2022. In addition, the cabinet was to issue the implementation regulation within sixty days from the day the law was issued. The new judicial fees law is a part of the government’s continuous efforts to improve the judicial system and attain its vision 2030 goals.
The new law is a new concept, because filing court cases and making requests to appear before a judge has been free of charge in Saudi Arabia since the intersection of civil courts. In most Middle Eastern countries, judicial charges are a common concept. The free filing of court cases has attracted the filing of many court cases, and many citizens view it as easy access to the justice system. However, the judicial system struggles with an increased number of cases filed in all over the regions.
A Brief Summary of the New Law
The Royal Decree No. M16 on Judicial Fees law approved on September 8, 2021, is a means of collecting specific fees from litigants when they file a lawsuit or make a request. These fees are calculated at five percent of the claim value of the lawsuits or request and not exceeding one million SAR. However, the court can recalculate the cost after judgment if the value has been affected. The charge of pursuing annulment of arbitration is one percent of the cost spent on the arbitral tribunal, which is also a maximum of one million SAR. These charges are relinquished if the application is not successful. The fee laws apply to all petitions, lawsuits, and requests to appear before the law courts. There are only a few exceptions of limited categories of litigants and claims. In an event where the disputing parties settle after the first court hearing or before judgment, the charged fee is reduced by 25% from the judicial fee charged. The remaining amount is refunded to the person who filed the case or made a request to appear before a judge. Moreover, the entire fee can also be refunded to a person in particular conditions. -First, the fee is entirely refunded when the judge rules in favor of the person who filed the case and paid the judicial fees.
– Second, when the claimant withdraws the case according to the applicable rules before the case goes to its first hearing in the court of law.
– Third, if the disputing parties settle their disputes before the first hearing in court concludes
– Fourth, if the dispute is settled of civil claims raised along with criminal proceedings, the fee is refunded despite the stage of the case. Lastly, judicial fees are reimbursed on a pro-rata basis in the event of partial success on appealed cases or if there were multiple applicants.
There are also some cases where filing a court case or requesting to appear before a judge is free of charge. Hence, this happens when an applicant chooses to pursue Article 2 of the Judicial Fees Law.
– First, according to this article, filing or making requests on disciplinary and criminal justice cases are not subjected to judicial fees.
– Second, lawsuits and requests to appear before a judge on cases of bankruptcy accounts are free of charge.
– Third, filing lawsuits and requests on personal status cases like alimony or child custody, divorce of marriage issues is also not charged.
– Fourth, lawsuits and requests regarding declarations are not chargeable. Lastly, lawsuits and requests that fall within the jurisdiction of the board of grievances are not subjected to any judicial fees.
Analysis of the Royal Decree No. M16 on Judicial Fees law
The primary aim of the new law is to improve the court systems by improving the efficiency of the court proceedings. Charging the filing of court cases and requests makes litigation unattractive to many, especially those aiming to make malicious lawsuits. The new law supports the agenda of Saudi Arabia to shift to other forms of resolving disputes like reconciliation.
Saudi Arabia has been making reforms to advance the new law. Thus, has been through enhancing its legal framework to accommodate other forms of dispute resolution like mediation and arbitration.
The collected judicial fees are deposited in a particular account under the finance ministry. The money is spent on projects to develop the judiciary and judicial performance. Many legal experts consider the new judicial fee law effective, appropriate, fair, and so do I. The fee raises seriousness in litigators by studying the cases from different angles before filing them, reducing malicious lawsuits. In addition, this law will promote other dispute reconciliation forms like mediation and reconciliation, and the fee will encourage documentation and contracts as proof of transactions.
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