SCCA Country Report
Arbitration in Saudi Arabia
July 2026
10 Key Takeaways
Judicial Practice Hover over each section below to view
1
89.7% annulment rejection rate
2.3% Sharia/public policy annulment
2
Competence–competence and separability consistently upheld
3
Limited judicial intervention firmly established
4
Party autonomy in the appointment of arbitrators generally upheld
5
Strict application of statutory qualifications for arbitrators
6
Sharia/law degree requirement for sole & presiding arbitrators removed
7
Arbitrator challenges (grounds and procedure) refined
8
Emergency arbitrators recognised and interim measures expanded
9
Enforcement streamlined: res judicata codified and requirement to deposit award with competent court removed
10
Digital proceedings embedded: electronic notice, virtual hearings, electronically signed awards
Reform of Arbitration Law
The Saudi framework has evolved from drawing inspiration from the Model Law to achieving a more advanced level of harmonization and procedural alignment striking a balance between international standards, the requirements of domestic legislation, and the specific features of the national legal system.
While 20.1% of the 967 cases examined (Jan 2023 - June 2025) involved annulment applications, the rejection rate was high: 89.7%. Only 20 applications were granted, and public policy was relied on in only three cases, including one case where the court also relied on Sharia grounds.
The judiciary consistently (a) respects an arbitral tribunal’s primary competence to determine its jurisdiction, and (b) maintains the validity of an arbitration clause where the underlying contract is declared null and void (unless the arbitration clause is defective).
Saudi courts consistently restrict their intervention to the circumstances expressly provided for in the Current Law (none of the 967 cases examined (2023-2025) ran counter to this approach).
Saudi courts generally uphold party-agreed appointment mechanisms and statutory mechanisms, subject to limited intervention where procedural fairness or arbitrator impartiality is compromised.
Saudi courts have denied enforcement in cases of non-compliance with a sole/presiding arbitrator’s requirement to hold a University degree in Sharia or law (statutory qualification under the Current Law).
Draft Law removes the current requirement that a sole or presiding arbitrator hold a university degree in Sharia or law, affording parties greater flexibility to appoint technical or non-legal experts as arbitrator.
New express ground to challenge arbitrators based on non-compliance with statutory qualifications, plus prohibitions on repeat arbitrator challenges (where same grounds invoked) and challenges after close of pleadings, aiming to reduce dilatory tactics.
Draft Law recognises emergency arbitrators and adopts an interim measures framework which is closer to the UNCITRAL Model Law (more detailed than the Current Law) and creates an expedited judicial mechanism for enforcing interim measures.
Awards are expressly given res judicata effect regardless of the country of issuance, reinforcing international enforceability while maintaining safeguards for recognition and refusal. Enforcement process is simpler as awards no longer needs to be deposited with the competent court.
Draft Law recognises electronic and mobile notifications and includes rules for deemed receipt, permits virtual hearings, recognises electronically signed awards, and deems awards rendered at the seat even if signed elsewhere.
On 1 July 2026, the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (”SCCA”) published its 249-page Country Report assessing the extent to which the arbitration law in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (“KSA”) aligns with the UNCITRAL Model Law. Divided into two parts, part 1 focuses on judicial practice by analysing 967 arbitration-related KSA Courts of Appeal decisions issued between January 2023 and June 2025 and part 2 is a direct (textual) comparison of the Model Law with the current Saudi arbitration law (“Current Law”) and the Draft Saudi arbitration law (“Draft Law”), currently under consideration in the KSA. Below we outline our 10 key takeaways from the report.
Hover over each section below to view
Given our extensive experience in Saudi-related disputes and valuable partnership with Al Akeel & Partners, we are excellently placed to discuss the findings in this report, or the proposed Draft Law more generally, with your business. Please contact any of the authors or your usual Mayer Brown contact.
Raid Abu-Manneh
Co-Leader of International Arbitration
London +44 20 3130 3773
rabu-manneh@MAYERBROWN.COM
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Gerard Moore
Partner
Dubai +971 4 568 2208
GMoore@MAYERBROWN.COM
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Dany Khayat
Co-Leader of International Arbitration
Paris +33 1 53 53 36 31
dkhayat@MAYERBROWN.COM
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Patricia Ugalde Revilla
Counsel
Dubai +971 0 52 554 5570
Pugalderevilla@MAYERBROWN.COM
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Andrew Sarraf
Lawyer (Australia)
London +44 20 3130 3647
asarraf@MAYERBROWN.COM
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Antonin Sobek
Associate
Dubai +971 4 568 3918
asobek@MAYERBROWN.COM
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Lisa Dubot
Knowledge Counsel
London +44 20 3130 3716
ldubot@MAYERBROWN.COM
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