The New Saudi Civil Code and its Effect on Construction Contracts
Paper number
264
Richard Harding KC
August 2025
Published in the SCL Journal: Summer 2025. An SCL (Gulf) paper republished by SCL UK with the permission of the author
The civil law in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was radically changed by the introduction of a new Civil Transactions Law, or civil code, which came into force in 2023. This paper identifies particular provisions which may be relevant to construction projects and contracts.
Overview – The old law – The new law – Formation of contracts – Additional obligations – Interpretation of contracts – Termination of contracts – Tort claims – Damages (compensation) – Liquidated damages – Non-performance – Exclusion/limitation – Prescription (time bar) – Muqawala contracts
The author: Richard Harding KC is a barrister practising from Keating Chambers and the founding chair of the SCL (Gulf)
Text: 30 pages