Enforcing a foreign court judgment in Saudi Arabia

Can you enforce a foreign judgment in Saudi Arabia without travelling there?

Usually, yes. You sign a power of attorney in your own country, and the judgment is stamped there for use in Saudi Arabia. A licensed Saudi lawyer then files the request and follows it. If any step needs someone in person, we tell you early.

A power of attorney is a signed document that lets someone, such as a lawyer, act for you. If you sign it abroad, it usually needs official stamps before Saudi courts accept it. For the details, see power of attorney for Saudi Arabia, signed abroad.

The judgment needs the same kind of stamps. An apostille is one certificate that confirms the signature and seal on a public document. Legalisation is a chain of stamps from several offices, used for countries outside the Apostille Convention. The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) keeps the official status table of countries that are party to the Convention. To check which one your country uses, see apostille or legalisation? Documents for Saudi Arabia by country.

Court work in Saudi Arabia is done in Arabic. The judgment and the papers that support it usually need a certified Arabic translation. Ask us before you pay for one.

Najiz is the Ministry of Justice’s online platform for cases, enforcement and powers of attorney. According to the Najiz platform itself, you sign in with Nafath, the Saudi government’s login app. Nafath needs a Saudi digital identity, which is linked to an ID issued in Saudi Arabia. This is why a creditor abroad usually acts through a lawyer. Saudi courts run most hearings electronically.

Is a foreign judgment enforced automatically in Saudi Arabia?

No. A foreign judgment, a decision of a court outside Saudi Arabia, cannot be enforced there on its own. A Saudi lawyer asks the Enforcement Court to enforce it, and the court reviews it before any step is taken against the debtor.

The Enforcement Court is the court that enforces judgments and other enforceable documents, such as a cheque. Your lawyer at home usually cannot act in Saudi courts. They can stay involved while a licensed Saudi lawyer files and follows the request.

If the court accepts the judgment, enforcement then works on what the debtor owns in Saudi Arabia. That can include bank accounts, property or money owed to the debtor. If the debtor has no assets there, enforcing in Saudi Arabia may not help, so we look at that first.

What does reciprocity mean for a judgment from your country?

Reciprocity means Saudi courts look at whether courts in the country that issued your judgment enforce Saudi judgments. This still applies under the new Enforcement Law.

The court looks at reciprocity for each judgment it reviews. That is why we check it for your country before you spend money on stamps and translations. If the court needs to know how your country treats Saudi judgments, your lawyer at home may be able to help explain it.

Agreements between some countries can change the process. We check whether one applies to yours.

What does the Saudi court usually check in a foreign judgment?

Besides reciprocity, the Saudi court usually checks four points first. The judgment must be final, the debtor must have been properly notified, the copy must be authenticated, and there must be a certified Arabic translation. If one of these is missing, the court may not accept the judgment. The official text lists every point the court looks at, and we check them against your judgment.

These are the points we usually check first:

• The judgment is final. It can no longer be appealed in the usual way in the country that issued it.
• The debtor was properly notified. The debtor was formally told about the case (this is called service) and had a chance to defend it.
• The copy is authenticated. It carries an apostille or legalisation, the official stamps that confirm a foreign document is genuine.
• There is a certified Arabic translation. The court reads the judgment in Arabic.

We tell you which points matter for your judgment before you prepare anything.

Should you sue in Saudi Arabia, or at home and enforce the judgment here later?

Start with where the debtor’s assets are. Then look at how reciprocity with your country is likely to be viewed, and at what your contract says about disputes. No one can predict the result, so weigh these points before you start a case anywhere.

• Where the assets are. If the debtor’s main assets are in Saudi Arabia, any judgment has to be enforced there in the end. A judgment from a Saudi court does not need the review that a foreign judgment needs.
• Reciprocity. If you sue at home, the Saudi review comes later. Check reciprocity with your country before you start, not after.
• Your contract. A clause that names the courts of one country, or arbitration, shapes the choice. We read it first.

If you already hold a judgment, the question is how to enforce it, and the rest of this page applies. For a claim brought in Saudi Arabia, see recovering an unpaid invoice from a Saudi company.

Is enforcing a foreign judgment different from enforcing an arbitration award?

Yes. An arbitration award, a decision made by arbitrators rather than a court, follows a different route. Saudi Arabia is a party to the New York Convention, the treaty on enforcing foreign arbitration awards.

A foreign award is also filed with the Enforcement Court, but the treaty shapes how it is reviewed. If you are not sure which one you hold, tell us what the decision is called and who made it.

We are writing pages on these related questions:

• How a foreign arbitration award is enforced against assets in Saudi Arabia.

  Enforcing an arbitration award in Saudi ArabiaComing soon

• The reverse direction: a Saudi judgment used in another country.

  Using Saudi judgments and documents in your countryComing soon

How enforcing a foreign judgment usually works, step by step

Enforcing a foreign judgment in Saudi Arabia usually moves through six steps. The order can change, and some steps run side by side.

1. Send us a short outline. Tell us which country’s court issued the judgment, when, against whom, and where the debtor’s assets are, if you know. Don’t send the judgment yet.
2. Get our first view. We tell you whether we can help and what the court is likely to look at. We also say what we need and how fees are agreed.
3. Sign the engagement letter and the power of attorney. Work starts only after an engagement letter, the written agreement between you and the firm, is signed. The power of attorney lets a Saudi lawyer act for you in court.
4. Have the judgment authenticated and translated. Get the apostille or legalisation in the country that issued it, then a certified Arabic translation. Where a lawyer helps: telling you which documents need stamps and translation before you pay for them.
5. File the enforcement request. We file the request with the Enforcement Court through Najiz. Where a lawyer helps: answering the court’s questions during its review.
6. Follow the enforcement file. If the court accepts the judgment, the file moves on to the debtor’s assets, stage by stage. Where a lawyer helps: acting at each stage and reporting to you.

What to prepare

A short outline is enough for a first message. Have these documents ready:

• The judgment, as the court issued it, with any decision on appeal.
• Proof that the judgment is final, if the court that issued it can give one.
• Proof that the debtor was notified of the case (proof of service).
• The apostille or legalisation, once you have it. We tell you first which documents need one.
• A certified Arabic translation, once we tell you which documents need one.
• The debtor’s details in Saudi Arabia: the full name, and the commercial registration (CR) number or ID number if you have it. A CR is a business’s entry in the official commercial register.
• Any assets of the debtor that you know of, and any payments made since the judgment.
• The contract between you and the debtor, if there is one, especially its clause on disputes.

Keep them ready — don’t send them yet. We tell you which ones to send after we agree to act.

Frequently asked questions

Related

• Recovering money owed in Saudi Arabia
• Working with foreign law firms, insurers and advisers
• Power of attorney for Saudi Arabia, signed abroad
• Recovering an unpaid invoice from a Saudi company