Presence and absence rule in Saudi Arabia

Presence and absence rule in Saudi Arabia

The lawsuit in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia goes through a number of stages, starting with submitting the lawsuit document before the competent court through the electronic portal. The court decides to accept the lawsuit and proceed with it, followed by the stage of filing legal memoranda and presenting defenses, and ending with the issuance of the ruling in person or in absentia.

A judgment in person differs from a judgment in absentia in a number of respects, including notification to the parties, a request for reconsideration, the duration of the objection, and the provision of proof.

What are the types of judicial rulings in Saudi courts?

Judicial rulings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are divided into:

• In terms of its issuance, it is a ruling in my presence and a ruling in absentia.
• In terms of its ability to appeal to a preliminary, appeal, and final ruling.

The Saudi system distinguishes between in-person and in-absence judgments, where in-person judgments are defined as judgments issued by the competent court of first instance in the presence of all parties to the case. As for the judgment in absentia, the judgment is issued in the absence of one of the opponents.

Presence and absence rule in Saudi Arabia

What is the difference between in-person and in-absence judgments?

What is the difference between in-person and in-absence judgments?

In terms of notifying the parties to the lawsuit

The difference between a judgment in person and in absentia in Saudi Arabia is that the court hearing the case must inform the absent party or his representative of the judgment in absentia issued in the case so that he can request an objection to the judgment within the specified deadlines.

As for the in-person ruling, it is not required that the parties be notified of the issuance of the ruling, and the parties receive a copy of the ruling to review it and submit a request for objection.

In terms of the right to request reconsideration of the case

Article 200 of the Sharia Procedures Law stipulates that a request to reconsider final judgments in absentia shall be accepted. As for in-person rulings, any of the opponents has the right to submit the request in specific cases, which are:

• If the ruling is based on evidence or papers that appear to be forged.
• If there are crucial papers in the case that cannot be submitted before the ruling.
• If the ruling is for something that was not requested by the parties to the case.
• If the wording of the ruling contradicts each other.
• If a judgment is issued against someone who was not properly represented in the case.

In terms of the duration of objection to the ruling

The Sharia Procedures System and the Criminal Procedures System have set the period for objecting to a judgment in absentia at 30 days from the date the defendant is notified of the judgment. This excludes urgent cases in which the period for objection has been set at 10 days.

As for the in-person ruling, the objection is submitted immediately after the parties obtain a copy of the ruling from the judicial department.

In terms of proof

The in-person ruling is characterized by clarity of procedures, as the parties can plead, present evidence, and discuss it to win the case.

While a judgment in absentia causes the absent party to lose the opportunity to plead and review the evidence presented by his opponent.

Presence and absence rule in Saudi Arabia

When does the in-person ruling fall?

A judgment in person shall lapse by statute of limitations upon the passage of a certain period of time after the judgment is issued without the execution of the sentence or legal action being taken against the accused, the death of one of the parties, loss of capacity, or upon the issuance of a pardon by the guardian in criminal cases.

When does a judgment in absentia become final?

A judgment in absentia is a temporary procedure whereby the court allows for the possibility of objecting to or challenging the judgment within the specified period in accordance with the Sharia Procedures System and the Criminal Procedure System.

A judgment in absentia becomes final and acquires finality in the following cases:

• The period specified for objecting to the ruling expires without submitting an objection request.
• Upholding the ruling issued by the Court of First Instance from the Court of Appeal.
• Absence and interruption from pursuing the case without an excuse acceptable to the court.
• Issuing an order to implement the ruling.

Is it permissible to implement a judgment in absentia?

Is it permissible to implement a judgment in absentia?

Judgments in absentia may be implemented against a party absent from attending judicial sessions when all regular notification procedures for the absent party stipulated in the Saudi regulations have been exhausted and the deadline for objecting to rulings issued by the courts of first instance has expired.

Presence and absence rule in Saudi Arabia

Submitting objections to in-person and in-absence rulings issued by Saudi courts requires the appointment of a specialized lawyer from the office of lawyer Abdul Majeed Al-Rasheed who has experience in judicial procedures and methods of objecting to rulings on appropriate dates.

A lawyer from the office of Attorney Abdul Majeed Al Rashid specializes in providing a variety of legal services, including studying and analyzing cases, drafting legal memoranda and defenses, representing clients before government agencies, and attending sessions before courts of first instance, appeals, and the Supreme Court on behalf of clients.