Reconciliation Procedures

Reconciliation Procedures

The rules and procedures of the reconciliation offices issued by the decision of the Minister of Justice No. (5595) dated 11/29/1440 AH are among the basic elements that play a decisive role in enhancing justice and social and economic stability in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These rules and procedures aim to provide an appropriate environment for resolving disputes and achieving reconciliation between the conflicting parties, which contributes to enhancing peaceful coexistence and achieving progress and stability. The rules of work of the reconciliation offices are also characterized by flexibility, speed and efficiency When people turn to the reconciliation office, a legal framework is provided to resolve the dispute and procedures are provided to achieve reconciliation in an uncomplicated manner, and guidance and assistance are provided to the parties to reach a final agreement that achieves their interests and preserves their rights. Over the years, reconciliation offices and reconciliation procedures in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have become a vital tool, as the conflicting parties can avoid long and expensive judicial procedures Instead, they can reach quick and effective solutions to conflicts and achieve reconciliation in flexible and varying ways depending on the nature of the conflict, and from this standpoint, we will focus our talk in this article on everything related to reconciliation procedures in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in accordance with what is stated in the work rules and procedures in reconciliation offices.

What is reconciliation in the Saudi regime?

Reconciliation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a consensual means of settling disputes, undertaken in whole or in part by reconciliation offices, as these offices are affiliated with the Reconciliation Center established pursuant to Cabinet Resolution No. (103) dated 4/8/1434 AH.

What are the responsibilities of reconciliation offices in the Saudi system?

Reconciliation offices in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are responsible for reconciling the following disputes:

• Disputes referred by the courts.
• Disputes referred by their parties or some of them to reconciliation offices, initially, or after the start of examining the dispute at any stage of the case, taking into account notifying the case examiner of this.
• • Reconciliation offices do not undertake reconciliation in matters in which reconciliation is not permissible according to Sharia law, nor in matters in which the parties to reconciliation do not have the right to reconciliation, nor in matters that violate the system.

Reconciliation procedures

What are the reconciliation procedures in the Saudi regime?

The working rules and procedures of reconciliation offices included a statement of reconciliation procedures as follows:

– Reconciliation registration and referral to the Reconciliation Office

The reconciliation request shall be referred by the courts, in accordance with the approved form, to the reconciliation office in the same court to which the lawsuit was filed. If there is no reconciliation office, it shall be referred to the reconciliation office designated by the Center. However, if the parties or one of them submits a reconciliation request without a referral from the court, the parties or one of them shall submit the request to the Center or the reconciliation offices, in accordance with the approved form. Reconciliation shall be handled by the office to which the parties submitted it or by the entity designated by the Center.

The reconciliation request shall be recorded on the day of its referral, and a number shall be given to distinguish it. The director of the relevant reconciliation office or his authorized representative shall refer the reconciliation request to the reformers from among the ministry’s employees or registered reformers, taking into account the interest and instructions issued by the center in this regard, and taking into account the desire of the parties as much as possible.

– Determine the date and location of sessions and inform the parties

The working rules and procedures of the reconciliation offices clarify that unless the center stipulates periods otherwise in the dispute subject to reconciliation, the reconciliation office shall set a date for the reconciliation session within a period not exceeding 14 days from the date of registration of the reconciliation request, and shall inform the reconciliation parties of the date through the reconciliation office or the reconciliation requester In the event of the absence of the parties or one of them, the office shall set another date within seven days of the first date, taking into account its suitability for the parties as much as possible. In the event of the absence of the parties or one of them for the second time or the inability to notify them, the reconciliation request shall be saved, and the court shall inform the referrer if the request is impossible. Reconciliation sessions shall also be held at the headquarters of the reconciliation office, and they may be held electronically remotely or at another suitable headquarters Provided that the controls and conditions issued by the Center in this regard are observed.

– Attend reconciliation sessions

Attendance at reconciliation sessions is limited to the following:

• The reformer.
• The original parties to the reconciliation may appoint someone to appear on their behalf, provided that there is an agency that authorizes the agent to reconcile. Its legal representative, who has the authority to reconcile on its behalf, or someone he appoints, shall appear on behalf of the legal entity.
• Agents of the parties to the reconciliation, even if only with the presence of all of them.
• Whose presence all parties accept before or during reconciliation.

Non-reformers and their assistants must also sign a pledge not to disclose and to adhere to the etiquette of reconciliation sessions.

– Reconciliation session procedures

At the beginning of the session, the conciliator must verify the identity of the reconciliation parties and their legal and regulatory eligibility to conduct the reconciliation, as the conciliator is responsible for controlling the reconciliation sessions. He must strive to ensure that the reconciliation parties reach a reconciliation with the opponent, adhering to the provisions of Islamic Sharia and the applicable regulations, the stipulated values, and the procedural evidence issued by the center If there is more than one dispute between the parties, even if their jurisdictions are multiple, he seeks for the parties to reach a settlement that ends all these disputes.

For the purpose of reaching reconciliation, the reformer may meet during or before the session with one of the parties without the others, and he may also meet with the parties without their agents, provided that this does not violate the values of reconciliation and does not lead to a legal prohibition, and on the other hand, the reformer may not force the parties to the reconciliation or some of them to accept reconciliation.

The parties to the reconciliation must adhere to the etiquette of dialogue and the instructions of the reformer. The reconciliation procedures and deliberations shall be in Arabic unless the parties agree otherwise. The reconciliation report shall be drawn up in Arabic. More than one reconciliation session may be held, provided that it does not exceed three sessions, and that the period from the time the procedures begin does not exceed thirty days. The following are excluded from this:

• Disputes in which the Reconciliation Office provides for longer terms.
• Other disputes when the Director of the Reconciliation Office agrees to an extension based on a reason stated by the reformer.

– Confidentiality of reconciliation sessions

Reconciliation sessions shall be confidential, and the information and documents contained therein and the resulting reconciliation reports may not be disclosed, presented as evidence, or testified to before judicial authorities, dispute resolution committees, and arbitration bodies, except in the following cases and within the limits of what achieves the purpose:

• Disclosure required to implement the reconciliation report.
• One of the parties to the dispute shall submit in the litigation or arbitration procedures the documents and facts he submitted during the reconciliation sessions related to the subject of the dispute, or what he had or had known about in a legitimate manner before the reconciliation sessions.
• Disclosing the name of the reformer or the existence of reconciliation procedures in general without detailing what took place in them.
• Disclosure agreed upon by the parties to the dispute.
• Exceptional disclosure required by a system within the limits of its provisions.
• Disclosure that prevents the commission of a crime.
• Disclosure of a violation committed by the reformer.

– Reconciliation ends

Reconciliation ends in any of the following circumstances:

• If the parties to the reconciliation reach a settlement that ends the dispute.
• If one of the parties to the reconciliation is absent.
• If one of the parties to the reconciliation withdraws at any stage.
• If reconciliation is not possible for one of the parties to the reconciliation due to his death, the expiration of his legal personality, or otherwise.
• If reconciliation sessions exceed the number of sessions or periods stipulated.
• If the reformer sees the futility of proceeding with the reconciliation procedures or if the parties repeatedly violate the ethics and procedures of reconciliation, he may apologize, and thus submit a report to the Director of the Reconciliation Office regarding the termination of the reconciliation or its referral to another reformer.

– Editing minutes of interest sessions

The reformer does not write a report on the reconciliation sessions, and is content with writing the following:

• If the reconciliation ends without a settlement, the conciliator shall prepare a report to that effect, recording the basic information in accordance with the approved form, including the date of the reconciliation sessions, the place where they were held, the name of the conciliator and the parties to the reconciliation and their basic information, the names of those who attended the session, and a summary of the dispute subject to reconciliation without mentioning what took place in the session. The transaction shall be reserved and the referring court shall be notified of that if the case is referred.
• If the reconciliation ends with a settlement in some of the dispute, the reformer shall prepare a report stating that the reconciliation ended without a complete settlement. He shall also prepare a reconciliation report showing the part of the dispute in which the reconciliation took place, and it shall have the provisions and procedures of the reconciliation report. The transaction shall be reserved and the referring court shall be notified of this if the case is referred.
• If the reconciliation ends with a complete reconciliation, the reformer shall prepare a reconciliation report, and the referring court shall feel this if the case is referred.

Reconciliation procedures

What are the controls for the reformer to write a reconciliation report?

The work rules and procedures in reconciliation offices included a statement of the controls for the reformer to write the reconciliation report as follows:

– Form of the reconciliation report and its conditions

The reformer shall prepare a report stating all the terms and conditions agreed upon by the parties to the reconciliation to end the dispute, and the following conditions shall be stipulated in it:

1- The terms of the reconciliation and the obligations of the parties must be known and enforceable, and must not violate the provisions of Islamic Sharia or applicable regulations.

2- The reconciliation report must be in accordance with the approved forms, if any, and must include the following information:

A- Date of reconciliation.

B- Name of the reformer.

C- The names of the parties to the reconciliation, and their basic data, including the identity number of the natural person, the license of the legal person, and the agency numbers of the agents.

D- A summary of the dispute and the parties’ requests.

E- The settlement agreed upon by the parties, all its terms, details and method of implementation.

3- The reconciliation report must be signed by the reformer, the parties to the dispute, or their agents authorized to accept the reconciliation. This does not require an electronic signature in the electronically recorded reports in accordance with the relevant regulations.

– Procedures for approving the reconciliation report and its validity

After the reformer and the parties sign the reconciliation report, it shall be approved by the Director of the Reconciliation Office in which the reconciliation took place, the Secretary-General, or his authorized representative for the reports issued by the registered reformers and the electronic reconciliation reports. Also, taking into account the confidentiality of the reconciliation sessions, the Secretary of the Center may authorize an administrative unit in the Center to monitor the quality of the reconciliation reports and review them before approving them. The reconciliation report shall be binding on the reconciliation parties to sign it After its approval, it shall be an executive document to which the provisions of the executive documents contained in the implementation system shall apply. No one from the reconciliation parties has the right to cancel or invalidate the reconciliation report after it has become necessary, except with the approval of all parties or by legal or regulatory requirements.

– Save, deliver and copy the reconciliation report

Each party shall submit a copy of the reconciliation minutes after their approval. Reconciliation offices and registered reformers shall send an electronic copy of the reconciliation minutes to the center, which shall keep them electronically confidential and easy to refer to when needed.

– Interpretation of reconciliation minutes

The reconciliation minutes shall be interpreted upon request for the interpretation authorized for adoption or as determined by the Secretary-General, after referring to the reformer. The interpretation shall be issued in writing and communicated to all parties. After the parties agree on it, it shall be prepared as a supplement to the reconciliation minutes, the provisions of which shall apply to it.

Reconciliation procedures

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