Amendment of the Implementing Regulations of the Arbitration Law

Reasons and justifications for proposing a draft amendment of the Implementing Regulations of the Arbitration Law

In line with the Royal Decree No. (M/8) dated 18/1/1443 AH, which stipulates “the deletion of paragraph (1) of Article (24) of the Arbitration Law, issued by Royal Decree No. (M/34) dated 24/5/1433 AH", and with the ongoing developments in various sectors especially the ones in relation to arbitration procedures and facilitating the implementation thereof in order to promote and attract foreign investments in light of the transformation phase that the Kingdom is going through within the framework of Vision (2030). The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Commerce have initiated a process to examine the provisions of the Implementing Regulations of the Arbitration Law relating to paragraph (1) of Article (24) of the Law.

The reasons and justifications supporting the proposal to delete Article (7) of the Implementing Regulations of the Arbitration Law are summarized as follows: the Article relates to paragraph (1) of Article (24) of the Law, and according to the relevant international experiences, there is no need to conclude an independent contract with the arbitrator and deposit a copy thereof.

Based on the foregoing, and to examine and review the provision of paragraph (1) of Article (24), the Arbitration Law and its Implementing Regulations have been revised in the light of international best practices relating to the provision of paragraph (1) of Article (24), and feedback has been collected from different sources, as well as verifying the compatibility and consistency of the different provisions with the practical application, to consider improving the provisions and ensure that they keep up with the changes, and to ensure compatibility between the current regulatory framework and international principles, practices and experiences. 

A comparative study is conducted on a group of countries: the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), France, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, the Sultanate of Oman, and the United Kingdom, these countries were selected according to criteria that aim at taking advantage of the international experiences of various legal and economic systems, also they adopted easy and flexible procedures and requirements, in order to achieve comprehensive analysis in light of the local environment, and to present the best available options in line with international best practices.​​​