The following words, wherever they appear in these regulations, shall have the meanings specified next to each, unless the context of the text requires otherwise:
1- Law: The Law of Publications and Publishing, and the Law of Visual and Audio Media.
2- Ministry: Ministry of Media.
3- Minister: Minister of Media.
4- Regulation: The Implementing Regulation of the Law of Publications and Publishing, and the Implementing Regulation of the Law of Visual and Audio Media.
5- Case: The complaint filed with the Committee by any person who has a direct status and interest, or referred to it by the Minister.
6- Committee: The primary committees for considering violations of the provisions of the Law of Publications and Publishing and the provisions of the Law of Visual and Audio Media.
7- Appeals Committee: The Appeals Committee for considering violations of the provisions of the Law of Publications and Publishing and violations of the provisions of the Law of Visual and Audio Media.
8- Secretariat: The General Secretariat of the two committees that undertake the work of the administrative and specialist committees.

The Committee is responsible for the following:
1- Considering claims related to violations of the provisions of the law and applying the penalties stipulated therein, and approving the compensation resulting from that.
2- Considering the violation committed by a Saudi outside the Kingdom of any of the prohibitions stipulated in Article Nine of the Law on Publications and Publishing, and any violations of the provisions of the Law on Audio-Visual Media, and applying an appropriate penalty from the penalties stipulated in Article Thirty-Eight of the Law on Publications and Publishing, and Article Seventeen of the Law on Audio-Visual Media, or taking the procedures mentioned therein.
3- Referring the violation that constitutes an offense against Islam or affects the higher interests of the state or falls under penalties that the judiciary is competent to consider, by a reasoned decision, to the Minister to present it to the King for consideration of taking the legal procedures to file a lawsuit before the competent court or taking what he deems appropriate for the public interest.

1- It is a requirement for the acceptance of the lawsuit that it is filed by any person who has the capacity and a direct interest, or it is referred by the Minister, after fulfilling the formal procedures for its acceptance.
2- The Minister appoints qualified employees from the Ministry or others to represent the prosecution before the Committee in the lawsuits referred to it.

The claim is submitted to the Secretariat and shall be addressed to the Chairman of the Committee in a Statement of Claim - according to a model prepared for this purpose - with an original and copies equal to the number of defendants. The Statement of Claim must include the following information:
1- The full name of the Plaintiff, his identity number, his profession or job, his place of residence, his place of work, the full name of his legal representative, his identity number, his profession or job, his place of residence, and his place of work.
2- The name and address of the Defendant.
3- The date of submission of the Statement of Claim.
4- The subject of the claim, what the Plaintiff is requesting, and his grounds.
The Secretariat must register the claim after completing the Statement of Claim form and refer it to the Committee within two working days from the date of its registration.

Any of the procedures stipulated in the rules may be conducted electronically, including the submission of claims, requests, their registration, consideration, remote pleading, exchange of memoranda, notification, issuance of decisions, and objections to them, and they shall have the same validity as written documents.

1- The Committee shall have a Secretary who is responsible for organizing, arranging, numbering, and preserving the records of the claims.
2- The Secretary of the Committee shall present the Statement of Claim to the Chairperson of the Committee, and it shall be registered with a sequential number and deposited in the claims register of the Committee upon the order of its Chairperson after verifying that it meets the established requirements.

Each committee shall have one or more secretaries who shall perform the duties of court clerks.

The Committee shall hold its meetings at least twice a week to consider the cases registered with it, and the meeting shall be attended by all its members. It may convene with a majority of the members. In the event that the hearing is held with the presence of the majority and one of the absentees is the Chair of the Committee, the legal consultant shall act as the Deputy Chair of the Committee. The Committee shall issue its decision within sixty days from the date of the first hearing unless there is a justification for the Committee to delay in doing so.

If the Defendant is absent from a hearing of the case, the Committee shall postpone the consideration of the case to another session, of which the Defendant shall be notified. If the Defendant is absent from this session without an excuse accepted by the Committee, the Committee shall continue to consider the case and issue a decision, which shall be deemed in absentia unless the Defendant or their attorney has been personally notified of the case, submitted a response, attended any of the hearings of the case, or if their absence occurred after the closure of the debate, in which case the decision shall be considered in person.