Domestic Dispute Resolution

Chambers Global 2026 — Dispute Resolution: Litigation, Saudi Arabia

Abdulaziz Bin Ali & Partners is recognized in Chambers Global 2026 for Dispute Resolution: Litigation in Saudi Arabia. The firm is recognized for its experience advising clients on complex commercial disputes, litigation strategy, and dispute resolution matters in Saudi Arabia.

Commercial Litigation

Commercial Court proceedings, expedited recovery mechanisms, and urgent protective measures.

Arbitration

Saudi-seated and cross-border arbitration under SCCA, ICC, and other major institutional rules.

Enforcement

Recognition and enforcement of judgments and awards, and enforcement defenses.

An effective dispute strategy is built well before the first hearing. It requires an early assessment of the legal and commercial risk, a litigation or arbitration strategy matched to the forum and the counterparty, disciplined evidence management, and a clear view of how any eventual judgment or award will actually be enforced.

We advise on Saudi commercial litigation, construction and infrastructure disputes, arbitration, and enforcement. Before recommending a course of action, we assess the applicable substantive law, the correct forum and any mandatory pre-litigation steps, contractual notice requirements, available interim measures, cost exposure, and the eventual enforceability of the outcome — whether the counterparty is a private company, a state-owned enterprise, or a government entity, since the applicable procedure differs materially between the three.

Section 01

Commercial Litigation

We represent clients in commercial disputes before the competent Commercial Courts and advise on related judicial and quasi-judicial procedures where the nature of the dispute places jurisdiction before a specialized forum. Our work includes contractual disputes, shareholder and joint-venture claims, payment disputes, construction matters, and other business disputes arising from commercial operations in Saudi Arabia.

Recovery Strategy and Procedure

—	Performance Orders (أوامر الأداء). For certain written monetary claims of a fixed and determined amount, we assess whether the case qualifies for a Performance Order, a special judicial procedure for recovery of certain eligible monetary claims where the statutory requirements are satisfied. We advise clients on whether this route is appropriate or whether ordinary proceedings are more suitable depending on the complexity of the dispute.
—	Taradhi settlement stage. Where mandatory conciliation procedures apply, we assist clients through the Ministry of Justice's electronic Taradhi platform before proceeding with litigation. We manage this stage as a genuine opportunity to resolve the matter early, while preserving the client's position to proceed to litigation without delay if settlement is not reached.
—	Judicial costs. Commercial claims and applications may be subject to the judicial costs system, subject to the applicable Judicial Costs Law, regulations, and judicial discretion. We consider potential cost exposure as part of the litigation strategy from the outset, rather than treating it as an afterthought once proceedings are underway.
—	Limitation periods. Commercial claims are subject to statutory limitation periods, including the five-year limitation period applicable to certain commercial claims under the Commercial Courts Law where applicable, together with other deadlines that may apply depending on the nature of the dispute. We review these deadlines as an essential first step when assessing any dispute.

Substantive Contract Disputes

—	Agreed compensation and liquidated damages. Articles 178–179 of the Civil Transactions Law regulate compensation agreed in advance by the parties. If the debtor proves that the creditor suffered no loss, the agreed compensation is not payable. The court may also reduce the agreed amount at the debtor's request where it is excessive or where the original obligation was partially performed.
—	Exceptional circumstances and impossibility. We distinguish between circumstances that make performance excessively burdensome and circumstances that make performance impossible. Article 97 of the Civil Transactions Law addresses general exceptional and unforeseeable circumstances creating severe hardship, while Article 110 addresses impossibility in reciprocal contracts where the debtor is not responsible for the cause.
—	Payment and performance disputes. Article 114 addresses reciprocal contracts where corresponding obligations are due, permitting a contracting party, in the circumstances the Law specifies, to withhold its own performance while the other party withholds the corresponding obligation.
—	Interim and protective measures. Where immediate protection is required, we pursue precautionary attachment and other urgent, protective remedies available under the applicable procedural framework — preventing the disposal or dissipation of assets before judgment, rather than waiting for a final ruling before addressing the commercial risk.

Section 02

Construction and Infrastructure Disputes

Construction disputes frequently turn as much on contractual procedure and project records as on the underlying technical issue. Notice periods, change orders, extensions of time, acceptance records, and expert evidence can all materially affect the strength of a claim.

—	Private and government projects. Private construction contracts are generally assessed within the Civil Transactions Law together with other applicable contractual and sector-specific rules. Contracts involving government entities may also be subject to the Government Tenders and Procurement Law and its implementing framework, including specialized rules concerning contract administration, extensions, and delay penalties.
—	Expert evidence. Where a dispute turns on a technical or engineering question, we work with officially appointed experts, including those engaged through the Ministry of Justice's "Khobrah" platform, so that technical findings are prepared by a qualified, recognized expert and carry appropriate weight before the court or tribunal.
—	FIDIC and international standard forms. We advise on FIDIC-style notice, Engineer-decision, and claim-management mechanisms, including the legal and evidentiary consequences that may arise where contractual notice and claim procedures are not followed.
—	Provisional acceptance and completion records. We advise contractors and employers on properly documenting provisional acceptance and its contractual consequences, including its potential effect on delay penalties, possession, allocation of risk, and the commencement of defects-related periods.
—	Delay and claim notices. A failure to follow contractual notice requirements can create significant evidentiary and contractual difficulties. We assess whether contractual notice provisions apply, whether they were complied with, and what consequences follow from any failure.
—	Early dispute-resolution mechanisms. Where the contract provides for a dispute board, adjudication process, Engineer determination, or independent technical expert, we assist clients in using those mechanisms before the dispute escalates to litigation or arbitration.

Disputes Involving Public-Sector Counterparties

Claims against government entities follow distinct procedures, and this distinction should not be assumed to extend automatically to every state-linked company. A genuine government body engaging in arbitration requires the statutory approvals discussed in Section 03, and enforcing a claim against it generally proceeds through approved budgetary channels coordinated with the Ministry of Finance, rather than the direct enforcement measures — such as attachment of assets — available against a private-sector debtor. A state-owned enterprise structured and operating as a commercial company, by contrast, is generally treated under the same private-law framework as any other company, unless a specific law provides otherwise. We advise clients on which category their counterparty actually falls into before assuming either regime applies.

Section 03

Arbitration

We advise on arbitrations seated in Saudi Arabia and cross-border proceedings involving Saudi parties, assets, or commercial interests, including disputes under the rules of the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA) and leading international institutions. Founding Partner Abdulaziz Bin Ali is recognized by Chambers as an experienced Saudi disputes practitioner and holds professional accreditation as an international arbitrator.

—	Seat, governing law, and language. The arbitration clause should distinguish between the seat of arbitration, the law governing the merits, and the procedural rules administered by the institution. Under Article 23 of the SCCA Arbitration Rules, parties may agree on the language of the arbitration; if they do not, the language is determined under the Rules.
—	ICC arbitration under the 2026 Rules. The 2026 ICC Arbitration Rules entered into force on 1 June 2026. The revised Rules no longer make Terms of Reference mandatory in ordinary ICC cases, strengthen the role of the initial Case Management Conference, raise the Expedited Procedure threshold for newer arbitration agreements, and introduce an opt-in Highly Expedited Arbitration procedure.
—	Arbitrator qualifications. For arbitration seated in the Kingdom, Article 14 of the Saudi Arbitration Law requires an arbitrator to have full legal capacity and good conduct, and the sole arbitrator or tribunal chairman to hold at least a university degree in Sharia or law. We confirm proposed appointments against this requirement before they are finalized, rather than assuming any candidate acceptable under institutional rules automatically satisfies it.
—	Mediation before arbitration (Arb-Med). Where a client's arbitration agreement or the applicable institutional framework provides for it, we make use of integrated settlement mechanisms — including the SCCA's mediation rules used as an escalation step preceding arbitration — to resolve disputes with materially less cost and time where a negotiated outcome remains realistic.
—	Emergency arbitrator relief. Where measures cannot wait for the tribunal to be constituted, we advise on emergency arbitrator applications under the applicable institutional rules. We assess this on a dual track: whether the counterparty is likely to comply voluntarily with an emergency arbitrator's decision, and, where compliance cannot be assumed, whether a parallel application to the competent Saudi court for a judicially enforceable interim order is the more reliable route — since an emergency arbitrator's order is not, on its own, equivalent to a court-backed enforcement measure.
—	Court support for arbitration. Applications for court support of an arbitration — including requests for interim measures and actions to annul an award — are brought before the competent Commercial Court of Appeal, which holds exclusive jurisdiction over these matters for arbitrations seated in the Kingdom.
—	Arbitration-clause drafting. We advise at the contract stage on institutional rules, seat, language, governing law, number of arbitrators, and escalation mechanisms, so that the dispute clause is designed deliberately rather than copied from international boilerplate.

Arbitration Clauses With Government Counterparties

Where a genuine government entity is a party, an arbitration clause requires prior legal review before signature. Under the Saudi Arbitration Law, a government body may not agree to arbitration without the required statutory approval, and under the Government Tenders and Procurement Law, government contracts involving arbitration generally require the approval of the competent authority as required under the applicable laws and regulations. This requirement applies to government bodies specifically — it should not be assumed to extend automatically to every state-owned or state-linked company without confirming the entity's actual legal status first.

Issue	Saudi Court Litigation	Arbitration
Language	Arabic judicial proceedings	Parties may agree on the arbitration language, subject to applicable rules
Decision-maker	Court assigned under the judicial system	Parties may participate in selecting arbitrators under the agreed rules
Procedure	Governed by applicable Saudi procedural law	Greater procedural flexibility within the arbitration law and institutional rules
Cross-border enforcement	Depends on applicable enforcement law and treaty framework	May benefit from the New York Convention framework where applicable

Section 04

Recognition and Enforcement

A successful judgment or arbitral award has commercial value only if it can ultimately be recognized and enforced against the relevant debtor and available assets. Saudi enforcement analysis may involve international treaties, the Saudi Enforcement Law, and, fr arbitration awards, the Saudi Arbitration Law — the applicable route depends on the origin and nature of the enforcement document. Digital procedures form an important part of modern dispute management in Saudi Arabia, and we guide clients through electronic filing, submissions, and procedural requirements before the competent authorities.

—	Foreign arbitral awards and the New York Convention. Saudi Arabia applies the 1958 New York Convention subject to its reciprocity and commercial reservations. Under the reciprocity reservation, the Convention applies to recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards made in the territory of another Contracting State.
—	Saudi Enforcement Law requirements. Foreign arbitral awards are also subject to the Saudi enforcement framework. Articles 11–12 of the Enforcement Law address conditions applying to foreign judgments and extend those conditions to foreign arbitral awards, subject to applicable treaties and agreements.
—	Apostille authentication. Saudi Arabia's accession to the Hague Apostille Convention allows foreign judgments, awards, and supporting documents issued in a fellow member state to be authenticated through a single Apostille certificate, in place of the traditional multi-step consular legalization chain. We confirm which authentication route applies for the specific originating jurisdiction before filing, since not every country is a Convention member.
—	Public policy and severability. Saudi enforcement courts will not enforce components of a foreign award that conflict with Islamic Sharia or Saudi public policy — most commonly interest-based (riba) components or punitive damages. Where the offending component is legally severable from the remainder of the award, Saudi enforcement courts have shown flexibility in excluding only that specific part while continuing to enforce the balance of the award. We assess severability as a distinct strategic question at the outset, rather than treating one objectionable clause as fatal to the entire enforcement application.
—	Electronic enforcement filing. Enforcement applications, case registration, and related submissions are conducted electronically through the Ministry of Justice platforms, including Najiz where applicable. We assist clients throughout electronic filing procedures, document submission, and procedural requirements before the competent authorities. The filing must include the relevant enforcement document and supporting material, including an Arabic translation where the underlying document is not in Arabic.
—	Judgment-debtor identity verification. Before enforcement, we verify the debtor's correct legal identity and commercial-registration details to reduce the risk of a filing being rejected on formal grounds for targeting an incorrectly identified entity.
—	Annulment of Saudi arbitration awards. Article 50 of the Saudi Arbitration Law identifies the grounds on which a Saudi-seated arbitration award may be challenged. Under Article 51, an action for nullification must generally be filed within 60 days from the date the party is notified of the award, before the competent Commercial Court of Appeal.

How We Work

1	Assess the dispute and the risk We identify the commercial objective, the counterparty's legal status, and the litigation, arbitration, and cost exposure involved before recommending a strategy.
2	Confirm jurisdiction, procedure, and deadlines We review the dispute clause, governing law, the competent court or tribunal, mandatory pre-litigation steps such as Taradhi, and any statutory limitation periods before proceedings begin.
3	Build the evidentiary record We organize the contractual, financial, technical, and procedural record needed to support the client's position, including notices, correspondence, payment records, and expert evidence where relevant.
4	Plan for enforcement from the outset We consider enforceability, the debtor's legal identity and status, and the eventual enforcement route before treating a favorable judgment or award as the end of the matter — and keep clients informed at each stage as the case progresses.

Facing a Commercial Dispute in Saudi Arabia?

We advise companies, investors, government contractors, and international businesses on litigation, arbitration, and enforcement strategy under the applicable Saudi legal and procedural framework.

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