The most important legal news in local newspapers
We in Ben Arafa Law Group Consulting & Legal Legitimacy L.L.C likes to provide you of the most important legal news in the local newspapers for this week, which related to your business and commercial, labor and procedural activities, and accordingly we provide you with the most important news as follows:
The Cabinet Approves Investment System
The Official Journal (Um Al Qura) published the updated investment system after approving it from the concerned authority. That system was developed as an integrated system that replaces the foreign investment system issued by the Royal bylaw number (M/1) on 5-1-1421H, to agree with the kingdom vision (2030). It will be enforceable after (180) days from its publishing date. According to the decree, the system will not affect any acquired rights for the investors before its enforcement, including any licenses or incentives given to them, until the completion of the terms defined for those rights. The details of the system are as follows:
The system aims at developing and reinforcing the competitive investment environment in the KSA, contributing in economic development and creating employment opportunities through providing an investment climate that attracts investments, according to the requirements of the related systems, including:
- Facilitating investment stability, ownership of its assets, it termination or dissolution.
- Ensuring and reinforcing the rights of investors
- Ensuring equality of treating both national or foreign investors
- Ensuring transparent, effective and fair procedures for the investor and his investment
- Establishing the principle of competitive neutrality, fairness and equality of opportunities at investment treatments.
The most important differences between the foreign investment system and the updated investment system, include:
- The definition of the investor in the updated system includes both the national and the foreign investors, compared with the foreign investment system which regulates only the rules for foreign investment.
- The concept of capital becomes more accurate and comprehensive through defining the following points:
- Shares in firms
- Contracting rights
- Fixed and transferable assets
- Intellectual property rights
- The rights granted upon the system of licenses or permits, etc.
The definition of capital doesn’t include the capital of loans, bonds, financial instruments, general and special debt instruments, that means the investments at those tools are out of the updated investment system scope. Also, word (foreign) was deleted, so that the capital includes both national and foreign capital.
- The system permits investors to use alternative dispute resolution, such as arbitration, mediation and settlement.
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Most Important Amendments in the Labor System
The cabinet approves critical amendments to a number of labor system articles, for creating more attractive employment environment for the citizens, that contributes in achieving the sustainable development according to the Saudi Vision 2030, and in accordance with the job market strategy and the labor agreements made by the KSA to preserve the rights of all contracted parties, that reinforces the stability of private sector establishments and creates a healthy and secure environment. Those amendments include:
- The following is added to the duties of the employer: the employer shall not do any act that weakens or damages the equality of opportunities or treatment in the job or profession
- Adding a paid leave to the employee in a case of the brother or the sister death.
- Adding the rights of the trainee and the employer and their duties at the training contract.
- Extending the maternity leave for the employed woman to twelve weeks
- The possibility of agreeing on a paid leave instead of the dues for the overtime.
- Defining the mechanism for the contract term and its renewal for the non-Saudi labor, when the contract is void of the term.
- The probation period should be defined in the employment contract, while the total term shall not exceed one hundred and eighty days in all cases.
- Adding the definition of the (resignation and assignment) and adding an article that defines the procedures of the resignation
- Adding a case for employment contract termination, related to the procedures of bankruptcy, that states (issuing a decree or a final judgment from the concerned court for terminating the employee contract at any of the bankruptcy procedures, according to the bankruptcy system)
- Amending the period of termination notification for the undefined term contract to be (30) days in a case that the termination is made by the employee and (60) days in a case of the termination by the employer.
Amendments to the New Anti- Corruption System
According to the anti-corruption and reinforcing transparency efforts made by the KSA, the cabinet approves the new system of Anti-Corruption authority that aims at empowering the authority to practice its authorities with more competence. That reflects the KSA undertaking to develop anti-corruption legislations, and the complete independence “fairness”, which reinforces its role in following up and investigating the individual who commit financial and administrative crimes, while ensuring the retrieval of stolen money and returning it to the state treasury. The new system includes the following critical points:
- In a case that a convicted with a corruption crime escapes outside the kingdom or in a case of his death, the authority- in coordination with the concerned authorities- will work for attaining the investigation evidence and results, if found, for taking the required actions to file a claim at the concerned court for claiming the returning the money that represents the crime subject, withholding it, or returning its value- according to the condition- and returning any revenues resulted from that money. Upon issuing the judgment and acquiring the final form attached with the executive form, the authority shall coordinate with the ministry of justice to take the required actions for the judgment enforcement whether internally or externally according to the execution system, the related international treaties and the reciprocity principle.
- Granting the judiciary capacity and the entire independence to the unit members at the anti-corruption authority. They are governed only by the Islamic law and the related regulations, while no one shall interfere in their work, and they shall not be assigned with duties other than their allocated duties.
- Anti-Corruption Authority shall develop and file those regulations to the king for considering their approval.
According to:
- Regulations for financial disclosure of some categories of state employees.
- Regulations for job oath of some categories of the state employees.
- Regulations for granting rewards to the ones who report corruption cases.
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