The system of court costs, which was approved by the Council of Ministers some time ago, was announced today.
The court costs system applies to all lawsuits and petitions filed with the courts, with the exception of public criminal cases, disciplinary cases, and related petitions; cases and petitions within the jurisdiction of the Personal Status Courts, except for appeals and petitions for reconsideration; cases and petitions within the jurisdiction of the Board of Grievances; cases and petitions related to the division of estates, except for appeals and petitions for reconsideration, and cases and petitions arising from the application of the provisions of the Bankruptcy Law.
Court costs for a case shall not exceed (5%) of the value of the claim, with a maximum of one million riyals; the regulations shall specify the criteria for assessing court costs and the controls and rules governing them.
Article 4 of the Law states that if the court decides to dismiss the case, or rules that it is deemed to have never been filed, or finds it inadmissible due to a failure to comply with filing requirements; additional court costs shall be imposed in the event of a rehearing, equivalent to (25%) of the costs of the initial hearing, and the plaintiff shall bear the additional costs of the rehearing even if a judgment is rendered in his favor on the merits of the case.
Article 5 provides that, in an action to set aside an arbitral award, court costs shall be imposed at a rate of (1%) of the amount awarded against the party seeking to set aside the award, if the court rules to dismiss the claim, up to a maximum of one million riyals.
Article 6 provides: Without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 7 and 8 of the Law, separate court costs shall be imposed on an action brought by an intervening party seeking a judgment in its own favor, and in the event there are multiple plaintiffs or defendants in the case, each shall bear court costs in proportion to their share of the claim.
Court costs not exceeding ten thousand riyals shall be imposed on the following motions, in accordance with the standards, controls, and rules of assessment specified in the regulations, pursuant to Article 7: motions for appeal, cassation, and petition for reconsideration, incidental motions, motions to intervene by opposing parties, motions to reply, a motion by a party to resume proceedings in a case that has been suspended by agreement before the expiration of the agreed-upon period for the suspension of the proceedings, a motion to correct or interpret a judgment, and other motions specified in the regulations.
Article 8 provides that the following motions shall be subject to court fees not exceeding one thousand riyals, in accordance with the standards, controls, and assessment rules specified in the regulations. This includes a request by an interested party for a certified copy of the case documents or records—whether in paper or electronic form—or documents or records in the court’s possession; a request by an interested party to inspect the case files or records (paper or electronic); a request for a replacement copy of judicial documents; and the provisions of paragraph (1) of this article shall not apply to requests submitted during the pendency of the case by the parties or intervenors.
Article 9: If the request results in a change in the assessed value of the case, whether an increase or a decrease, the court costs for the case shall be calculated based on the new assessed value, without prejudice to the court costs specified for the request itself, Article 10: No new costs shall be imposed on the case in either of the following situations: if the court rules that it lacks jurisdiction and the case is subsequently brought before the competent court, if the competent court rules to set aside the judgment and remand the case to the court that issued the contested judgment or to another court.
Article 11 provides that the competent authority shall determine the amount of court costs for the lawsuit or petition filed with the court in accordance with the provisions of the law and regulations, and shall notify the plaintiff or the petitioner thereof upon the filing of the case or petition. The plaintiff or petitioner may object to this determination within fifteen days from the date of notification before the Chief Judge or a judge authorized by him, and his decision shall be final and not subject to appeal.
Article 12: With the exception of appeals for cassation and petitions for reconsideration, failure to pay court costs shall not prevent the court from registering the lawsuit or petition and ruling on them, and such costs shall be collected in accordance with the procedures specified in the regulations. The petitioner for cassation and the petitioner for reconsideration shall be granted a period of thirty (30) days from the date of registration of the petition with the competent court to pay the court costs specified for the petition; If payment is not made within this period, the court shall rule that the right to file the petition has lapsed, and the ruling shall be final.
As for Article 13: The party against whom the judgment is rendered shall bear the court costs assessed for the case and related petitions, or a portion thereof, unless otherwise provided by the law or these regulations, without prejudice to the right of the parties concerned to claim compensation. If the plaintiff is unsuccessful in part of their claims, they shall bear the portion of the costs corresponding to that part; if the case is settled, the parties to the case shall bear the court costs equally, unless they agree otherwise.
Article 14 provides that if the case is concluded by a judgment without the collection of court costs, the final assessment issued by the competent authority shall be considered an enforceable instrument and shall be collected in accordance with the provisions of the regulations, Article 15, subject to the provisions of paragraph (2) of Article 13, court costs shall be reduced to one-fourth in the event of a settlement before the court, provided that the settlement occurs after the conclusion of the first hearing and before a judgment is rendered in the case.
Article 16 provides: Court costs that have been paid shall be refunded if it is determined that the payer was not obligated to pay them or that the payer qualifies for an exemption, including when a judgment is rendered in favor of the party who paid the court costs; a motion for recusal filed by the judge or judges, if the motion is granted; a motion to correct or interpret the judgment, if the motion is granted; or a motion for appeal, if the appealed judgment is overturned in its entirety; and if the judgment is set aside in part, the costs shall be exempted to the extent of that part; a petition for annulment may be filed if the case is remanded to the court that issued the contested judgment; if the plaintiff withdraws the claim before the first hearing is held, in accordance with statutory procedures; cases that are settled before the first hearing is held; and cases relating to private rights that are brought incidentally to criminal cases, if they are settled regardless of the stage of the proceedings, provided that the regulations shall specify the procedures and rules governing such matters.
Article 17: Subject to the provisions of regulations and international treaties and agreements to which the Kingdom is a party, court costs shall not be imposed on the following categories: prisoners and detainees at the time court costs become due in non-criminal financial cases, in lawsuits filed either by them or against them, workers covered by the Labor Law, those exempt from it, and their beneficiaries, when claiming entitlements arising from employment contracts; and ministries and government agencies. The regulations shall specify the procedures and rules governing this matter.
Article 18 provides, subject to the provisions of Article 17, if a judgment is rendered in a case in favor of a party exempt from court costs, the losing party shall be required to pay the court costs. Article 19 provides that the amounts of court costs collected shall be deposited into a current account of the Ministry of Finance at the Saudi Central Bank.
Article 20 provides that the Minister of Justice shall, by decision, designate the competent authority—within the court to which the case is filed or to which the request is submitted—to collect court costs and to refund them if grounds for a refund exist. Article 21 authorizes the Minister of Justice to grant licenses to the private sector to perform support services for the implementation of the system; the regulations shall specify the provisions governing such licenses, the rules governing their operations, and the procedures for their supervision; Article 22: The Ministry of Justice shall prepare the regulations within sixty (60) days from the date of promulgation of the law, and they shall be issued by a decision of the Council of Ministers.
