The Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recently
approved a new arbitration law (the "2012 Law"). The law,
which is generally based on the UNCITRAL Model Law, came into
effect on 8 August 2012 and replaces Saudi Arabia's previous
arbitration law (the "1983 Law"). The new law is forward
thinking it embraces national and international arbitration
proceedings, provides for rules governing arbitration proceedings
in Saudi Arabia, and deals with the enforcement of foreign arbitral
awards.
1. The Arbitration Agreement
The 2012 Law provides guidelines on how notification of the
parties should be carried out (i.e. by mail or as provided in the
agreement). The arbitration agreement itself must be in writing,
but this requirement can be satisfied by an exchange of
correspondence or by reference to another agreement which includes
an arbitration clause. Government departments cannot agree to an
arbitration clause in a contract unless prior approval is given
