Dr. Walid bin Mohammed Al-Samaani, Minister of Justice and President of the Supreme Judicial Council, issued a decision yesterday, Wednesday, to cancel the penalty of “suspension of e-government services” from debtors, to be limited to preventing “financial dealing” with government agencies only, according to the Execution Law, and the Minister of Justice approved the establishment of controls for the duration of executive detention after the request of the executioner, and its legalization to take into account the age and family situation of the executed, after new amendments approved in the executive regulations of the execution system.

The new amendments stipulate that mandatory executive detention shall be mandatory if the amount of the debt - or total debt - is one million riyals or more, after a request from the enforcement applicant, if the debtor does not fulfill his debt within a period of three months, or is found to have sufficient funds to fulfill it; and does not file an insolvency case, and may not be released except with the consent of the enforcement applicant, or by a judgment subject to appeal, provided that the period of detention shall not exceed three months and the extension after interrogation for a similar or successive periods

The Minister of Justice approved the addition of a new article (83/3) to the Regulation as follows: "Subject to the provisions of insolvency proceedings stipulated in the Law, if the department issues the orders stipulated in paragraphs (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) of Article (46) of the Law, and a period of six months has elapsed, and the debtor has not fulfilled the obligation, or sufficient funds have been found to fulfill the obligation He may be sentenced to imprisonment at the request of the enforcement applicant, provided that he is questioned within fifteen days from the date of his imprisonment, and the Department may release him at any time after his questioning if he shows signs of seriousness in resolving his financial situation'.

While the decision of the Minister of Justice codified the provisions of Articles (83/2) and (83/3) by adding an article (83/4) that regulates the issue of executive imprisonment by the condition of the executor. The provisions of the two articles shall not apply if the executor is over sixty years old, or if the debtor has minor children and his spouse is deceased or imprisoned for any reason.