Under this Statute, a professional association named The Saudi Bar Association (SBA) shall be established. The SBA shall report to the Ministry of Justice and shall have a legal personality and financial independence. It shall be headquartered in the city of Riyadh and may establish branches within the Kingdom pursuant to a decision by its Board of Directors.

The SBA shall aim to enhance legal practice, improve lawyers’ performance, and promote their awareness of their professional duties in accordance with this Statute and other applicable laws.
The SBA shall have all the powers necessary to carry out its duties, including
the following:
1. Setting standards for practicing the profession and reviewing and improving such standards in accordance with Sharia and applicable laws.
2. Promoting the interests of the SBA’s full members relating to the practice of the profession in accordance with applicable laws, and providing them with the necessary services, including attestation of signature.
3. Organizing and participating in training courses, conferences, seminars, meetings, and exhibitions related to the profession, upon coordination with the Ministry of Justice and in accordance with statutory procedures.
4. Developing and evaluating training and qualification programs in cooperation with relevant authorities.
5. Conducting and publishing studies and research, and publishing books, periodicals, journals and other publications.
6. Presenting to relevant authorities profession-related proposals.
7. Providing pro bono legal assistance and consultation.

Membership in the Authority shall be as follows:
1. Basic Membership: This is granted to lawyers licensed to practice law in the Kingdom who have paid the prescribed annual membership fees.
2. Associate Membership: This is granted to anyone who meets the requirements for practicing law in the Kingdom, after submitting an application for this membership to the Board of Directors of the Authority and obtaining its approval, along with the payment of the prescribed annual membership fees.
3. Honorary Membership: This is granted to those whom the Board of Directors of the Authority decides to award it to, in recognition of their outstanding contributions that serve the goals of the Authority.

The membership shall terminate in the following cases:
1. Death.
2. For full members: striking the name off the record of licensed lawyers.
3. Members who default in the payment of membership fees for more than 90 days from the date the fees are due and after the lapse of 15 days from the date of notification of such payment.
4. Issuance of a reasoned decision by the Board of Directors to terminate the membership.
5. Withdrawal from membership.

The SBA shall have a general assembly comprising all full members.

1. The General Assembly shall hold an ordinary meeting within 90 days from the beginning of the SBA’s fiscal year. The Chairman of the Board of Directors, or his designee from among Board members, shall chair the meeting. The meeting shall not be valid unless attended by at least half of the members. If the quorum is not met, another meeting shall be held within a period not less than 15 days and not more than 60 days from the date of the first meeting. In this case, the meeting shall be valid regardless of the number of attending members. The General Assembly may hold extraordinary meetings as specified in the regulations.
The Ministry of Justice may designate a representative to attend the General Assembly’s meetings.
The General Assembly’s decisions shall be passed by the majority vote of attending members. In case of a tie, the meeting chairman shall have the casting vote.
2. The Chairman shall call for the General Assembly’s meetings at least 30 days prior to the meeting date. The invitation shall specify the meeting’s time, venue, and agenda.

Deleted.

• The General Assembly is competent for the following:

  • 1. Approving the necessary regulations for this statute.

  • 2. Approving the administrative and financial regulations of the authority.

  • 3. Proposing a regulation for the classification of attorneys and their grades, and submitting it to the Ministry of Justice for appropriate action.

  • 4. Approving the controls and standards related to accepting membership applications.

  • 5. Approving membership fees and any financial dues collected by the authority, and the payment mechanism.

  • 6. Approving the final accounts of the authority.

  • 7. Approving the work plan presented by the Board of Directors of the authority, and endorsing the annual report of the authority.

  • 8. Approving the investment policy of the authority's funds.

• The Board of Directors of the Authority shall be as follows:

  • A. Minister of Justice as Chairman

  • B. A representative from the Ministry of Interior as a member

  • C. A representative from the Ministry of Justice as a member

  • D. A representative from the Ministry of Commerce as a member

  • E. A representative from the Board of Grievances as a member

  • (E repeated). A representative from the Ministry of Investment as a member

• The rank of the representatives of the government entities shall not be less than (fourteenth grade) or its equivalent.

  • F. Two Saudi faculty members from universities, from relevant colleges, appointed by the Minister of Education as members

  • G. Five principal members of the Authority, appointed by a decision of the Minister of Justice as members

• The appointed member according to paragraph (G) of this article must meet the following two conditions:

  • 1. To be regular in paying the prescribed membership fees for the last (three) years.

  • 2. No final disciplinary decision has been issued against him.