Regulatory Statute for the Military Decorations Law
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The Council of Ministers
Having reviewed the transaction received from the Office of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers under No. 9082/7/R dated 3/6/1406 AH, enclosing the letter of His Royal Highness the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation, and Inspector General No. 1970/5/2 dated 27/4/1406 AH, concerning the draft Military Decorations Law and its Regulations.
Having reviewed the memorandum of the Experts Division No. 144 dated 21/7/1407 AH.
Having reviewed the recommendation of the General Committee of the Council of Ministers No. 120 dated 29/7/1407 AH.
2- A draft Royal Decree, the form of which is attached hereto, shall be prepared.
3- Approval of the Regulations of the Military Decorations Law in the form attached hereto.
Deputy Prime Minister
Item: 1
The models of the military decorations attached to the Military Decorations Law shall be adopted in accordance with the description provided for each decoration by a national establishment selected to manufacture and secure each entity’s requirements for military decorations and their insignia, under the supervision of the Military Affairs Department of the Armed Forces, which shall invite bids for the procurement process through a formal tender and notify the military entities of its results. A committee composed of representatives of the Ministry of Defense and Aviation, the Presidency of the National Guard, the Ministry of Interior, and the General Intelligence Presidency shall act as the technical committee for analyzing this tender. Each entity shall then procure the military decorations it requires through direct purchase from this establishment, in accordance with the Law Governing the Procurement of Government Purchases and the Implementation of Its Projects and Works.
Item: 2
Nomination and recommendation for the granting of these decorations shall be made as follows:
1- Nomination shall commence by the commander or immediate superior at the company commander level, or its equivalent according to the chain of command, with a thorough explanation of the reasons for the nomination and recommendation and a proposal for the benefits that the nominating authority considers should be granted to each nominee, based on the absolute discretion of the nominating authority, until the nomination reaches the department concerned with medals and decorations, which is referred to in this Law as the competent authority. 2- This authority shall review the nomination in terms of the suitability of the performance and its compliance with the Law. 3- The competent authority shall submit a request to the competent Minister to issue a decision granting the decoration, while preparing the certificate of award and sending it together with the decoration for the ceremony of wearing it.
Item: 3
Military medals shall be presented at the first ceremony, or public or private unit event, provided that this does not take place later than two months thereafter. The following is recommended:
1- Medals shall be presented to the ranks of Lieutenant General, Major General, and Brigadier General, and their equivalent civil grades, by the competent Minister. 2- To the ranks of Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, and Major, and their equivalent civil grades, by the commander of the region, sector, or equivalent. 3- To the ranks of Captain, First Lieutenant, and Lieutenant, and their equivalent civil grades, by the brigade commander or equivalent. 4- To personnel and their equivalent civil grades, by the commanders of formations at the battalion or directorate level, except for the Medal of Courage, the Medal of Proficiency, and the Marksman’s Medal. These medals shall be presented to personnel and their equivalent civil ranks by the commander of the region or sector, as stated in Paragraph 2. If this coincides with an occasion, holiday, or ceremony, it shall be included among the items of that ceremony. 5- The military units shall be notified by means of an official bulletin.
Item: 4
Foreign nationals who are awarded military decorations are decorated as follows:
They are treated in the same manner as their Saudi colleague if they participated with him in the occasion for awarding the decoration, such as being with him in battle. If the foreign national is alone or accompanied by other foreign nationals, the decoration is presented to him through his military unit, or through the military attaché or embassy, as recommended by the competent authority.
Item: 5
1- Military decorations shall be worn on the upper left side of the chest on the ceremonial uniform according to the precedence of the decoration, starting from the inside outward, with each overlapping by half the width of the decoration ribbon, as shown in the attached illustrative diagrams Nos. (1), (2), (3), (4), and (5). 2- Ribbons shall be worn on the upper left portion of the pocket of Office Uniform No. (2), and on the shirt and trousers (Uniform No. 3), according to the precedence of the decoration, starting from the inside outward and from top to bottom, and arranged in rows with no more than three ribbons in each row, as shown in the attached illustrative diagrams Nos. (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), and (12). 3- The substitute decoration, which is a miniature version of the military decoration, shall be worn on civilian clothing on the upper left side of the chest.
Item: 6
The order of precedence of Saudi military decorations is established after the medals and Saudi decorations conferred by Royal Order. These military decorations also take precedence over all foreign medals and decorations, whose order of precedence is in turn determined according to the date on which they were conferred or the date on which authorization to wear them was granted.
Item: 7
The military decoration certificate shall be issued with the decoration and shall specify the following:
1- Name of the decoration. 2- Name and military rank of the person to whom the decoration is awarded. 3- The occasion on which the decoration was awarded. 4- Date of award of the decoration. 5- Signature of the authorized person.
Item 8
A holder of military medals shall be stripped of them by order of the Minister in any of the following cases:
1- He shall be stripped of all medals if he is convicted of high treason. 2- He shall be stripped of all medals if his service is terminated for disciplinary reasons, if he is deprived of Saudi nationality, or if he is sentenced to a hadd punishment or convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude and breach of trust. 3- A foreign national shall be stripped of the military medals awarded to him if he insults Islamic Sharia or the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Item: 9
The holder of the medal shall be prohibited from wearing it for a period specified by the Minister if he commits an offense inconsistent with the grounds for awarding the medal or breaches military discipline and conduct.