Court Judgment

A court judgment is the decision a competent court issues on the merits of a case before it, settling the dispute between the parties and defining their rights and obligations; it is recorded in a judgment deed (sakk) stating the operative ruling and its reasons. In Saudi Arabia judgments are first issued by courts of first instance (general, commercial, labour, personal-status and others) and may be reviewed by the courts of appeal and then the Supreme Court under the Law of Civil Procedure (Royal Decree M/1 dated 22/1/1435H). The objection period starts when the losing party receives a copy of the judgment deed, or on the date set for receiving it (Art. 179): thirty days for an appeal or a request for review, and ten days in urgent (summary) matters (Art. 187). If the period passes without objection, or the court of appeal upholds the ruling, the judgment becomes final (acquires finality). As a rule, a judgment cannot be forcibly enforced while it is still open to objection unless it carries expedited enforcement (Article 10 of the Execution Law). Judgments in petty cases defined by the Supreme Judicial Council are not appealable (Art. 185). In property disputes the General Court hears real-estate cases, including eviction and rent payment, unless a law provides otherwise (Article 31 of the Law of Civil Procedure). A judgment is the first type of executive instrument listed in Article 9 of the Execution Law, so the winning party takes it to the Execution Court to collect money or recover the property. Note that a new Execution (Enforcement) Law issued by Royal Decree M/237 dated 3/11/1447H takes effect on 28 October 2026 and replaces the 1433H law, so the procedure in force on the filing date should be checked.