Breadcrumbs

  • 2019 07 August Date Signed
  • 2020 05 May Date of Ratification
  • 2020 05 November Entry into Force

Reservations made upon ratification

Upon ratification, “the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hereby declares that the Convention shall not apply to settlement agreements to which it or any of its governmental agencies is a party, or any person acting on behalf of those governmental agencies.”

Implementing Legislation

The necessary official order giving effect to the Singapore Convention on Mediation is that of the Royal Decree No (96) which was issued on 16 Sha ‘ban 1441H corresponding to 9 April 2020. The effect of the royal decree essentially implements the Singapore Convention on Mediation and more importantly, international mediation settlement agreements (“IMSAs”) falling within the scope of application of the Singapore Convention on Mediation, will be directly enforced by the courts of the Kingdom from 5 November 2020, as long as it does not relate to the “Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” or “any of its governmental agencies” or “persons acting on behalf of those governmental agencies”.

Procedure for Enforcing International Mediated Settlement Agreements

The procedures relating to the enforcement of IMSAs has been encapsulated in Saudi Arabia’s Execution Law . The following provisions would be of relevance:

Article 9:

No forcible execution may be carried out except by an execution document of a right of a specified amount at the time of payment. Execution documents are:

  • Judgements, decisions and orders issued by courts,
  • Awards of arbitrators initialed by orders of execution in accordance with the law of arbitration,
  • Reconciliation minutes issued by authorized departments or approved by courts
  • Commercial papers
  • Authenticated contracts and writs,
  • Judgements, Court Orders, awards of arbitrators and authenticated writs issued in a foreign country
  • Ordinary papers the contents of which are admitted in whole or in part, and
  • Contracts and other papers which have the power of the execution document under the law.

On the reading of Article 9(3) and Article 9(6), iMSAs would likely be able to be enforced in Saudi Arabia, this is because iMSAs can usually be brought before the Saudi Arabia Centre for Commercial Arbitration which would be deemed to be a “authorized department” or in the alternative, the applicant could bring the IMSA to the Saudi Arabian Court, which the court would likely give effect to given Saudi Arabia’s entry into the Singapore Convention on Mediation.

Article 58:

If the proceeds of sale are insufficient to repay the rights of all concerned parties (distraining creditors and persons considered party to the procedures) and the said parties agree to an amicable settlement on the distribution of the proceeds, the execution judge shall enter the agreement in a statement to be signed the execution officer, the concerned parties and the judge. The said statement shall have the power of an execution document towards them.

Article 59:

If the proceeds of sale are insufficient and if the concerned parties fail to agree to an amicable settlement on the distribution of the proceeds, the execution judge shall enter the objection in a statement signed by the execution judge, the execution officer and the concerned parties. The execution judge shall issue a judgment containing the distribution of the proceeds among creditors in accordance with the Sharee'ah and legal rules.

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