Saudi Arabia - Regional Authorities Establishment Act
Article 1
This Statute is aimed at improving the level of administrative work and
development in the regions of the Kingdom. It is also aimed at maintaining
security and order, and at guaranteeing the rights and liberties of
citizens in the framework of the Islamic Shari'a.
Article 2
The regions of the Kingdom and the headquarters of the Emirate of each
region are organized by a Royal Decree upon the recommendation of the
interior minister.
Article 3
Administratively, each region consists of a number of governorates,
districts and centers created after taking account of demographic,
geographical, and security considerations, environmental conditions and
communications. The governorates are organized by a Royal Decree upon the
recommendation of the Emir of the region.
Article 4
For every region there is an Emir with the rank of minister, with a deputy
of distinguished grade to assist him in his work and to deputize for him
in his absence. The Emir and his deputy are appointed to and relieved of
their posts by a Royal Decree upon the recommendation of the Interior
Minister.
Article 5
The Emir of the region is accountable to the interior minister.
Article 6
The Emir and his deputy, before they take up their responsibilities, take
the following oath before the King: "I swear by Almighty God to be
loyal to my religion and then to my King and country, and not to disclose
any of the State's secrets, and to protect its interests and laws and to
discharge my duties with honesty, trust, loyalty and justice.
Article 7
Every Emir will assume the administration of the region in accordance with
the general policy of the State, and in accordance with the rules of this
Statute and other Statutes and motions. In particular he must:
(a) Maintain security, order and stability, and take the necessary
measures to this end, in accordance with regulations and notions.
(b) Carry out judicial judgments after they become final.
(c) Guarantee the rights and liberties of individuals, and take no measure
that will harm these rights and liberties, except within the limits
decided by the judiciary and the law.
(d) Work for the social, economic and urban development of the region.
(e) Work for the development of public services in the region, and promote
them.
(f) Administer governorates, districts and localities, and control the
work of governors, district directors and heads of locality, and ensure
that they discharge their duties in an adequate manner.
(g) Protect the assets and property of the state, and prevent any
transgression upon them.
(h) Supervise the organs of the state and their employees in the region in
order to ensure that they perform their duties well and with all trust and
loyalty, taking into account the ties of the employees of ministries and
various services in the region with their competent authorities.
(i) Have direct contact with ministers and heads of service, and discuss
the affairs of the region with them in order to improve the performance of
the bodies under his authority, and inform the interior minister about
this.
(j) Present annual reports to the interior minister on the performance of
public services in the region, and other affairs of the region as defined
by the executory motion of this Statute.
Article 8
An annual meeting of the Emirs of regions is to take place under the
chairmanship of the interior minister to discuss issues related to
regions; the interior minister submits a report on this matter to the
chairman of the Council of Ministers.
Article 9
A meeting of the governors of governorates and directors of districts is
to take place at least twice a year under the chairmanship of the Emir of
the region to discuss matters of the region; the Emir submits a report on
this issue to the minister for the interior.
Article 10
(a) For each region, one under-secretary or more may be appointed with a
rank no less than grade 14, in accordance with a decision by the Council
of Ministers upon the recommendation of the interior minister.
(b) Each Governorate has a governor with a rank no less than grade 14; he
is appointed by a decision of the chairman of the Council of Ministers
upon the recommendation of the interior minister; the Governorate has an
under-secretary whose rank is no less than grade 12 and who is appointed
by a decision of the interior minister upon the recommendation of the
region's governor.
(c) Each group B governorate will have a Governor of not less than 12th
grade by a decision of the interior minister based on recommendation of
the region's governor.
(d) Each group A center will have a chairman of not less than eighth
grade. He will be appointed by a decision of the interior minister based
on a recommendation of the region's governor.
(e) Each group B center will have a chairman of not less than fifth grade.
He will be appointed by a decision of the region's governor.
Article 11
Governors of the regions, governors of the Governorates and chairmen of
the centers should have their residences at the venues of their work and
should not leave their place of work without permission from their direct
superiors.
Article 12
Governors of Governorates and chairmen of centers will assume their duties
in the concerned administrative zones within the authority delegated to
them.
Article 13
Governors of Governorates should administer their areas according to
specifications mentioned in Article 7, except what is contained in columns
"waw", "Ta" and "Ya" of the article. They
should supervise the works of the chairmen of centers and their staff.
They should ascertain their efficiency in performing their duties and
submit periodic reports to the governor of the region on the efficiency of
their public service performance and other matters related to affairs of
the governorates in line with the executive regulations for this system.
Article 14
Each ministry or government department has services in the region. It
appoints a head over its bodies in the region whose grade is not less than
the twelfth grade. This head is directly related to the central body and
his duty is to coordinate with the Emir of the region in the field of his
work.
Article 15
A council is created in each region and is called the region's council.
The headquarters of this council are situated in the town where the Emir
of the region has his headquarters.
Article 16
The region's council consists of:
(a) The region's Emir as chairman
(b) The deputy Emir of the region as the deputy chairman
(c) The Emir's assistant
(d) The heads of the government's bodies in the region are appointed in
accordance with a decision by the Prime Minister on the recommendation of
the Interior Minister
(e) A number of residents whose number is not less than ten. These should
be men of science, experience and specialization. They are appointed by
the Prime Minister on the recommendation of the region's Emir, and on the
approval of the interior ministry. Their membership lasts four years,
which can be renewed.
Article 17
A council member must be:
(a) Of Saudi nationality by birth and upbringing.
(b) Of recognized rectitude and competence.
(c) No younger than 30.
(d) to be a resident of his region.
Article 18
A member is to submit proposals in writing to the chairman of the Regional
Council on matters within the Council's jurisdiction. The chairman is to
include every proposal on the Council agenda with a view to putting it
forward for examination.
Article 19
A member of a Regional Council cannot attend the deliberations of the
Council or of its committees if the topic raised relates to a personal
matter, to a matter pertaining to another person whose testimony is not
accepted or to a person for whom the member is acting as guardian, proxy
or representative.
Article 20
Should the appointed member wish to resign, he is to submit a request to
that effect to the interior minister through the Emir of the region
concerned. The resignation will not be considered effective until the
prime minister has approved it on the recommendation of the interior
minister.
Article 21
Apart from the cases mentioned in this Statute, an appointed member cannot
be dismissed during his membership period except by an order of the prime
minister, acting on a proposal of the interior minister.
Article 22
Should a vacancy arise for any specific reason, a replacement is to be
designated within three months of the date at which the vacancy arose. The
new member will then fill the vacancy for the remainder of his
predecessor's period, in accordance with Article 16 (e) of this law.
Article 23
The Council of the Region is responsible for studying any aspect that
could improve the standard of services in the region; its particular
prerogatives are as follows:
(a) To define the needs of the region and propose their inclusion in the
state's plan of development.
(b) To specify useful projects in accordance with a scale of priorities
and propose their endorsement in the state's annual budget.
(c) To study plans for the organization of cities and towns of the region
and follow-up their implementation once they are endorsed.
(d) To follow-up aspects related to the region vis-a-vis the plan of
development while observing a balance and co-ordination in this matter.
Article 24
The Regional Council tables any proposal involving generally useful work
for the citizens of the region and encourages citizens to contribute in
this respect, the proposal should be submitted to the interior minister.
Article 25
The Regional Council is prohibited from looking into any subject that is
outside the scope of its prerogatives as stipulated for it by this law;
its decisions will be null and void if it exceeds this scope; the interior
minister issues a decision in this matter.
Article 26
The Regional Council will hold an ordinary session every three months at
the invitation of its chairman, and the chairman may call for an
extraordinary meeting if he deems fit. The session will include the
meeting or meetings held following one invitation, and the session may be
closed only after all the points on the agenda have been examined and
discussed.
Article 27
The presence at the meetings of the Regional Council is considered as a
duty related to the function of members mentioned in Article 16 (c) and
(d) of this Statute. They must attend in person or a person must attend in
lieu of them in the event of their being away from work. As for the
members mentioned in Article 16 (e), the absence of a member at two
successive sessions without an acceptable excuse is grounds for dismissal
from the Council. In this case, this member must not be appointed again to
membership of the Council before two years have passed since the date of
the decision of his dismissal.
Article 28
The meetings of the Council are in order only if at least two-thirds of
members attend them. It adopts its decisions by an absolute majority of
votes of Council members. If votes are equal, then the chairman has the
casting vote.
Article 29
The regional Council must, if necessary, form special committees to
examine any decree falling within the scope of its prerogatives. It can
enlist the help of experienced people and specialists. It can also invite
anyone it likes to attend Council meetings and to take part in the
discussion without having the right to vote.
Article 30
The interior minister can summon the Council to convene under his
chairmanship at any venue he chooses. The minister also chairs any meeting
he attends.
Article 31
The Regional Council can convene only at the request of its chairman or
his deputy or by order of the interior minister.
Article 32
The chairman of the Council has to submit a copy of the reports to the
interior minister.
Article 33
The chairman of the Regional Council has to inform the ministries and
government departments about the resolutions concerning them which are
passed by the Council.
Article 34
Ministries and government departments have to comply with the resolutions
passed by the Regional Council in accordance with the contents of Article
23 (a) and (b). If a ministry or government department sees fit not to
agree with a resolution passed by the Regional Council on what has been
mentioned it has to clarify the reasons for this to the Regional Council.
If the Regional Council is not convinced that the reasons given by the
ministry or government department are suitable it will refer the case to
the interior minister, who will then refer it to the chairman of the
Council of Ministers.
Article 35
Every ministry or department with services in the region will notify the
Regional Council about the projects decided for the region in the budget
as soon as it is issued. It will also notify the Council about the
development plan decided for the region.
Article 36
Any minister or head of service can seek the views of the regional Council
about any subject connected with his jurisdiction in the region. The
council has to offer it's view in this regard.
Article 37
Upon the recommendation of the interior minister, the Council of Ministers
decides on the remuneration of the chairman of the regional Council and
its members, taking account of the costs of transport and residence.
Article 38
The Regional Council can only be dissolved by a decision of the chairman
of the Council of Ministers upon the recommendation of the interior
minister. If that happens, new members should be appointed within three
months of the date of dissolution. During the period when the Council is
dissolved, the members mentioned in Article 16 (c) and (d) under the
chairmanship of the emir of the region will exercise the powers of the
Council.
Article 39
The Regional Council has a secretariat residing in the region's Emirate,
which will undertake the preparation of it's agenda, extending timely
invitations to meetings, recording the discussions that take place during
the meetings, counting votes, preparing the minutes of the meetings,
drafting the decisions, carrying out the necessary work to organize the
Council's meetings and recording its decisions.
Article 40
The interior minister will issue the necessary bills to implement this
Statute.