The Council of Ministers
Having reviewed the matter received from the Bureau of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers under No. 8/1273 dated 18/6/1401 AH, and No. 7/H/26552 dated 2/12/1401 AH, concerning the report submitted by the Ministry of Interior regarding certain citizens who travel abroad and damage the reputation of the Kingdom there through conduct that violates decency and tarnishes the honor and reputation of the country; and in light of addressing this matter, the Ministry of Interior prepared a draft statute to penalize anyone who damages the reputation of the Kingdom abroad, and the Ministry also submitted arrangements relating to regulating the use of their vehicles by Saudi citizens outside the Kingdom.
Having reviewed the Minutes of the Bureau of Experts No. 61 dated 22/5/1403 AH, adopted jointly with His Excellency the Secretary-General of the National Security Council on the matter.
Having reviewed the recommendation of the General Committee of the Council of Ministers No. 51 dated 27/4/1404 AH.
Decides as follows:
Approval of merging the arrangements relating to persons who damage the reputation of the Kingdom abroad and the arrangements relating to regulating the use of their vehicles by Saudi citizens outside the Kingdom into a single statute, and simplifying the procedures so that they shall be as follows:
1- Every Saudi citizen outside the Kingdom shall observe good conduct and behavior and shall refrain from anything that damages the reputation of his country or violates honor and public decency. Anyone who violates this shall be subject to the following procedures:
- A- In the event of committing the violation for the first time, the Minister of Interior shall, based on a recommendation by the committee referred to in Paragraph Two of this Decision, issue a notice reprimanding the violator for his conduct, including a warning that he will be subject to a travel ban if he repeats such conduct, and shall obtain a written undertaking from him to that effect.
- B- In the event of repeating the violation, he shall be subject to a travel ban for a period not exceeding three years, according to the seriousness of the violation, pursuant to a decision of the Minister of Interior based on a recommendation by the aforementioned committee. In the event of repeating the violation thereafter, he shall be subject to a travel ban for the period recommended by the same committee.
- C- The Minister of Interior shall establish the procedures necessary to implement the travel ban and remove its effects upon the expiry of its term, and may order that the term be shortened.
- D- If a vehicle bearing Saudi registration and license plates is used in committing an act that violates this Decision, the committee previously referred to shall consider prohibiting the vehicle owner from traveling in accordance with the foregoing rules.
2- A committee shall be formed from members selected by the Minister of Interior, chaired by a Sharia Adviser, to consider the foregoing violations. This committee shall be competent to issue summonses requiring the accused to appear before it, confront them with the documents, hear their statements, and determine the duration of the travel ban within the limits prescribed by this Decision.
3- Anyone who violates this Decision shall be summoned on the basis of the following:
- A- A judicial judgment issued by the courts of the country in which the violation was committed, or any official document issued by that country establishing its occurrence.
- B- A statement issued by a person holding official capacity authorizing him to report the violation.
4- A committee shall be formed, whose members shall be of no lower than the fourteenth rank, from:
- 1- Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs.
- 2- Ministry of Interior.
- 3- Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- 4- General Presidency for Youth Welfare.
- 5- Ministry of Media.
This committee shall examine means of encouraging citizens to spend their vacations within the Kingdom, provided that the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs shall submit the outcome of the committee’s work to the Council of Ministers.
Deputy Prime Minister