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The following terms and phrases – wherever mentioned in this Law – shall have the meanings assigned thereto unless the context requires otherwise:
Law: Mediation Law.
Regulations: Implementing Regulations of the Law.
Mediation: Any process in which a mediator(s) assists the parties in reaching an amicable settlement of disputes arising out of or relating to a legal relationship, in whole or in part, without the mediator having the power to impose a settlement of the dispute, and this process is called conciliation and settlement.
Mediator: A sole mediator or two or more mediators as the case maybe other than the parties and their representatives, who is entrusted with assisting the parties in reaching an amicable settlement of the dispute, and is called a conciliator.
Parties: The parties to the dispute under mediation, whether they are natural or legal persons, and the mediator is not a party.
Mediation agreement: An agreement between the parties to resort to mediation in order to settle a dispute that has arisen or may arise between them.
Settlement Agreement: The document that includes what the parties have agreed upon to settle the dispute under mediation or part of it. This document is called a reconciliation record.
1. The provisions of the Law shall apply to mediation that takes place within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in civil and commercial disputes, and in disputes that is dealt with by the personal status courts and criminal courts in a manner commensurate with their nature as determined by the Regulations.
2. The provisions of the Law shall not apply to mediation in which the administrator of the dispute himself, during judicial or arbitral proceedings, seeks to facilitate the parties' reaching a settlement of the dispute.
Subject to the provisions of Article (2) of the Law, the provisions of the Law shall apply to mediation regardless of the reason for resorting to mediation, including the following:
1. Mediation conducted on the basis of a mediation agreement, whether the agreement is before or after the dispute arises.
2. Mediation conducted on the basis of a legal text by resorting to mediation.
3. Mediation conducted on the basis of a referral from a court, arbitral tribunal or a body competent to hear the dispute in accordance with the relevant legal provisions.
4. Mediation conducted at the request of one of the parties to the dispute.
1. Without prejudice to the relevant international conventions and the provisions of a special legal text, the provisions of the Law shall apply to international commercial mediation, which the parties agree to subject to the provisions of the Law.
2. For the purposes of paragraph (1) of this article an international commercial mediation shall be deemed to be an international commercial mediation in the following cases:
A. The parties have their places of business at the time of the conclusion of the mediation agreement in different countries. If one of the parties has more than one place of business, the place most closely related to the subject matter of the dispute shall prevail. If one or all of the parties does not have a specific place of business, the place of habitual residence shall prevail.
B. If the country in which the parties have their places of business is different from the State in which a substantial part of the obligations of the commercial relationship is to be performed or from the State most closely connected with the subject matter of the mediation.
1. If a dispute is submitted to the court or arbitral tribunal, the parties to which have expressly agreed to resort to mediation and not to initiate judicial or arbitral proceedings within a specified period or at the time of the occurrence of a specified event, the court or arbitral tribunal shall proceed with their agreement, and the court shall rule that the case is inadmissible if the defendant pleads this against any request or defense in the case.
2. Commencement of judicial or arbitral proceedings in a dispute where the parties have agreed to resort to mediation shall not be deemed to be abandonment or termination of the mediation agreement.
1. The regulation shall specify the provisions and procedures necessary for the accreditation of mediators, including the provisions for their registration in the list of accredited mediators, the rules for their qualification, their duties, the policies for determining the wages they receive, and the rules for controlling and considering their violations.
2. The provisions of paragraph (1) of this Article shall be without prejudice to the permissibility of mediation by a mediator who is not included in the list of accredited mediators, and the opposability of the resulting settlement agreements in accordance with the relevant laws.
3. No legal person may declare himself to be a provider of mediation services or engage in mediation services on a professional basis except after obtaining accreditation in accordance with paragraph (1) of this Article.
The mediator may request fees for mediation in return for the performance of his task, and the mediation fees and who bears them and how to perform them shall be determined by agreement between the parties and the mediator in writing before the commencement of the mediation procedures.
The mediator shall be bound by impartiality and independence, and the mediator shall disclose to the parties any circumstance affecting his impartiality and independence, and any existing or potential conflict of interest, and the parties may expressly agree to accept the mediator with circumstances affecting his impartiality and independence if he has previously informed them of these circumstances.
Unless otherwise expressly agreed by the parties, the mediator shall not be an arbitrator, litigate or offer consultation on any dispute in respect of which the mediator has acted as mediator, or any dispute relating thereto.
Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the mediation proceedings shall commence on the day on which the parties agree to refer such dispute to mediation. The relevant rules and regulations shall specify the commencement of mediation proceedings in cases where they are not based on the agreement of the parties to resort to mediation.
1. Mediation shall have one mediator, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.
2. The appointment of the mediator shall be based on the agreement of the parties to his appointment or the procedures for his appointment. If the mediation is based on a legal text, the appointment of the mediator shall take into account the relevant legal texts and referral orders for mediation.
1. The parties may agree on the rules and methods by which mediation shall be conducted in a manner that does not violate the provisions of the Law, the regulations, and the relevant laws.
2. In the event that the parties do not agree on mediation procedures, the mediator may conduct the mediation with the rules and methods he deems appropriate, taking into account the wishes of the parties and the circumstances of the mediation, and in a manner not contrary to the provisions of the Law and the relevant regulations.
The parties or their representatives shall be notified of the date and place of the mediation sessions by any of the official means of notification, including electronic means. The regulations shall specify the procedures and controls for notification.
If the mediation is based on a legal text by resorting to mediation, and one of the parties is absent from the mediation session after being notified for the second time in accordance with the provisions of Article (13) of the Law, the mediation shall end. The absent party shall incur the mediation fees not exceeding the cost of registering the lawsuit in accordance with what is determined by the regulation.
The mediation sessions may be attended by the representatives of the parties. Only the parties, their representatives and the mediator shall be entitled to attend the mediation sessions except with the consent of all parties. The regulations shall specify the necessary controls for the enforcement of this article.
1. The mediation procedures, hearings, data, information and documents related to or submitted to them are confidential, and may not be disclosed except in the cases stipulated in Article (17) of the Law.
2. The mediator may disclose to a party any data, information or documents relating to the dispute under mediation disclosed by the other party, unless the disclosing party requires that they not be disclosed.
As an exception to the provisions contained in Article (16) of the Law, the data, information and documents related to mediation submitted therein may be disclosed in the following cases, to the extent that the purpose of disclosure is achieved:
A. Disclosure agreed by the parties.
B. Disclosure required for the implementation of the settlement agreement.
C. Disclosure to the competent authorities of what prevents the commission of a crime or in which there is reporting of its occurrence.
D. Disclosure of the violations of the mediator and those attending the hearing that are not parties before the court or the authority competent to impose the penalty.
E. The disclosure required by a Law within the limits of its provisions.
F. Disclosure by a party to its lawyer for the purpose of obtaining legal advice.
The regulation shall establish the necessary controls for the enforcement of confidentiality provisions and their exceptions.
1. The mediator, the parties and any person who has participated in or seen the mediation proceedings may not infer or testify against any party what has come to his knowledge or saw through the mediation procedures, even if it relates to a dispute other than the dispute under mediation, including the call for mediation, the declarations, offers and proposals submitted within the mediation procedures, and the data, information and documents prepared solely for the mediation proceedings or resulting from the mediation.
2. The court, the arbitral tribunal or any authority competent to hear the dispute may not order testimony or inference contrary to the provisions of paragraph (1) of this article, and must not accept the evidence submitted to the contrary, unless a special legal text is made to the contrary.
3. Legally accepted evidence is not considered unaccepted for its use in mediation with the possibility of inference from it prior to mediation.
The mediation shall expire if the parties agreed on a settlement of the dispute under mediation, if the mediation is not possible, if one of the parties terminates it, if the mediator terminates it due to the futility of proceeding with it, or if the period specified for it expires without extension. The regulations shall specify the controls and procedures necessary for what is stated in this article.
If the parties reach a full or partial settlement of the dispute, a written agreement shall be made for the settlement agreed upon by the parties, and the settlement agreement shall be binding and enforceable in accordance with the relevant legal provisions.
Subject to the provisions of Article (20) of the Law, the settlement agreement shall be considered as an enforcement document if it meets the conditions and controls stipulated in the enforcement Law.
Without prejudice to the provisions stipulated in the enforcement Law and the relevant law, it is not permissible to refuse to implement the settlement agreement to nullify it based on the objection of the party subject of the enforcement, unless it is proven that one of the following cases has been verified:
1. That one of the parties was not fully competent at the time of the conclusion of the settlement agreement, in accordance with the relevant laws.
2. That the settlement agreement is void in accordance with the Law to which its parties have subjected it or the Law that the court deems enforceable.
3. That the obligations contained in the Settlement Agreement have been implemented or are unclear or incomprehensible.
4. To accept an objection to the settlement agreement would be contrary to the terms of the settlement agreement.
5. That the mediator has seriously violated his duties or due procedures in accordance with the controls specified by the regulation.
6. The implementation of the settlement agreement is contrary to public order.
7. The dispute subject to mediation may not be reconciled in accordance with the relevant laws.
Subject to the provisions of Article (4) of the Law, the implementation of international settlement agreements required by the Kingdom's obligations in the relevant international conventions to which the Kingdom is a party shall be in accordance with the provisions and procedures prescribed in the Enforcement Law.
Mediation sessions and any of the procedures stipulated in the Law may be in electronic form, and any procedure achieved by using electronic means and modern techniques may be dispensed with.
1. The Minister of Justice shall issue the regulation within (one hundred and eighty) days from the date of issuance of the law.
2. The Minister of Justice shall issue such manuals and decisions as are necessary to comply with the provisions of the law.
The Law shall enter into force after (one hundred and eighty) days from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette, and shall repeal all provisions that contradict it.
Last update: 29 December 2022
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Disclaimer: Translation into other languages depends on the Google translation, Therefor the NCC is not responsible for the accuracy of the information in the new language.
