Legal News Until 24/10/2024

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:

Transferring the authorities of issuing licenses for (the practice of individual management consultations) from the ministry of commerce to the ministry of human resources and social development

The cabinet decreed transferring the authorities for issuing licenses to “practice the individual management consultations” from the ministry of commerce to the ministry of human resources and social development, as follows:

• To be included in the free business documents
• The ministry of commerce remains practicing the authority of issuing the above stated licenses for (six) months from the date of this decree issuance.
• Ministry of human resources and social development studies relieving the conditions for issuing licenses of individual management consultations to achieve the general objectives, considering the recommendations of the strategic committee members at the letter of the strategic committee in the economic affairs and development council.

Extending the period for connecting the acceptance of claims by the labor courts with firstly filing them to the labor office for amicable settlement of the dispute

The Saudi Cabinet decreed to extend the enforceability of paragraph (a) of article (First) of the royal bylaw number (14-M) dated to 22-2-1440H, for one year from 20-2-1446H. The stated paragraph states: (For labor claims which are filed to the labor court, shout be filed firstly to the labor office for taking the required actions to the amicable settlement of the dispute). The main points of the decree are as follow:

• Paragraph (a) of article (first) of the royal bylaw, refers to a prior condition to filing a labor claim to the labor court, as the claimant (usually the employee or the employer) should firstly file the claim to the labor office.
• The labor office is the concerned authority for trying the amicable settlement of the labor dispute between the parties (the employer and the employee)
• procedures of amicable settlement:
• The claim is filed to the labor office as a first step, for providing the opportunity to solve the dispute amicably between the parties, without the necessity of taking judiciary actions.
• In a case that the amicable settlement failure, the claimant shall file a labor claim to the labor court.
• Objective of Extending the Period:
• Extending for an additional year means continuity of those procedures applicability for an additional year, to be evaluated or amended in the future.
• The objective of that procedure is to relive the stress on labor courts and to try solving disputes quickly and effectively without the requirement of seeking the court that saves time and resources of both the parties and the courts.
• Benefits of the decree:
• The decree aims at reinforcing the opportunities of amicable settlement of labor disputes through labor offices, that may result in decreasing the number of cases filed to labor courts.
• The decree contributes in regulating the relationship between the employee and the employer in a way that ensures the rights of the parties and decreasing the long-term and costly disputes in the courts.
• Improving the legal system competence through solving some cases quickly beyond the courts, that enable courts to concentrate on complex cases that require legal judgments.

Public Transport Authority Issues the Regulations for the committee of Railway violations system

Public transport authority issued the regulations of the railway system and its executes rules that aim at regulating the committee work and defining its duties according to the rules of the system. Those regulations aim at reinforcing the transparency and governance in the sector, as the committee is the concerned authority with the violations of the licensees and the beneficiaries from the railway services. The regulations include:

• Committee structure: The committee is formed of members who are appointed for three renewable years. Members are fired or replaced in defined cases, such as absence from the meetings or the conflict of interests.
• Procedures of meetings: Meetings are held in the majority of members and the committee has the authority to hold its meetings electronically when required, while it keeps all meetings confidential. All decrees are issued in the majority of attendance, while the chairman shall have the casting vote in a case of equal votes.
• Authorities of the committee: the committee is concerned with the violations related to railways system, and imposing the sanctions defined by that system, including financial sanctions up to 10 million Saudi riyals, while the sanction shall increase in a case of repetition. It is also concerned with considering the complaints filed by the related individuals or authorities.
• Duties of the committee chairman: The committee chairman is responsible for managing meetings and communicating with the concerned authorities. He files reports to the council about any obstacles or challenges that face the committee.
• Committee secretary: The committee includes a specialized management unit, that manages all technical and administrative matters related to the meetings, including writing the minutes down to the follow up of responses and ensuring the completion of the required documents for deliberating complaints and violations.
• Reporting and Execution Mechanisms: the committee decrees are reported through approved means that include the e-mail, the national address, SMS, while the decrees of the committee may be appealed at the complaints department in 60 days. The committee decrees shall be enforceable from the date of reporting.
• Annual reports: the committee undertakes to file an annual report to the council that includes the results of its works, and it may publish regular reports about its activities.
• Sanctions: the sanctions imposed by the committee ranged from imposing financial fines up to 10 million Saudi riyals, and they shall be doubled to 20 million riyals in a case of repetition. The sanctions shall be defined according to the nature of the violation and the extent of its danger, considering the previous violations of the violators.

Legal Information

Article number twenty three of the regulations and the procedures that govern the amicable settlement of labor disputes states that:

In a case that the claim includes any violation to the labor system rules or its executive regulations and the enforceability decrees or in a case it is pointed out to the reconciler that it is found at any of the settlement parties, the amicable settlement management shall notify the labor environment control and development agency to make the required inspection and investigation, to ensure undertaking with the labor system rules and its executive regulations, according to the following:

• in a case of violating the labor rules and the executive regulations:
• In a case that the claim filed to the amicable settlement department includes any violation to the labor rules or its executive regulations, that violation will be treated amicably.
• That also includes the cases where it is pointed out that there is a violation by any of the parties during the settlement process, even if it is not stated in the claim.
• Notifying the labor environment control and development agency:
• In a case that there is a violation, the amicable settlement department shall notify the labor environment control and development, which is the concerned authority for controlling the undertaking with the labor system and developing work environment.
• The objective of that notification is to make the required inspection and investigation, to ensure that the work environment undertakes with the rules and the laws.

Objective of that article:

In conclusion, the article aims at achieving two main objectives:

• Ensuring the parties of the labor dispute undertaking with the labor system: even in a case of amicable settlement, the violations which may affect the rights of employees or employers shall not be ignored.
• Reinforcing control and undertaking: engaging the control agency in a case of discovering violations reinforces controlling the enforceability of the system rules and ensures a healthy and sustainable work environment.