The Saudi Arbitration Law is applicable to arbitration proceedings when parties to a labour dispute choose arbitration. This is confirmed by Article 224 of the current Saudi Arbitration Law of 2005, as referred to above in Chapter 2. Article 57 of the Saudi Arbitration Law of 2012 includes an explicit statement cancelling the Saudi Arbitration Law of 1983 and its executive regulation of 1985, as it states:
This Law shall supersede the Law of Arbitration promulgated by Royal Decree No. (M/46) dated 12/7/1403H- 1983.623
Thus, the Saudi Arbitration Law of 2012 becomes the applicable law when labour dispute parties choose arbitration to resolve labour disputes as an alternative method to the traditional judicial solution by the CSLDs.
As discussed in Chapter 2, the scope of the Saudi Arbitration Law of 2012 is not limited to specific disputes, but applies to all kinds of internal disputes in Saudi Arabia.624 For example, it can be used in commercial, administrative, labour, and other disputes whenever the parties to a dispute agree on resolving it through arbitration. This kind of arbitration is used in the KSA, according to Article 2.625
All the relevant clauses in the Saudi Arbitration Law are also applicable when the arbitration in labour disputes such as the arbitration agreement in Articles 9 and 10,626 the appointments of arbitrators in article 15,627 the venue of arbitration in Article 28628, language of the arbitration in article 29,629 the arbitration award in Article 39, 630and nullify the arbitration award in articles 49 and 50.631
621
Omara, above n 615, 621.
622Al-Sayed Naal, Arbitration in Collective Labour Disputes (Legal Centre in Ain Shams University, 2009) 4. 623Saudi Arbitration Law of 2012, above 143, art 57
624Mahmoud Omar, The New Saudi Arbitration Law (Khwarezm Scientific Publisher, 2013) 122. 625
Saudi Arbitration Law of 2012, above 143, art 2. 626Ibid art 9-10. 627Ibid art 15. 628Ibid art 28. 629Ibid art 29. 630 Ibid art 39. 631Ibid art 49-50.
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But the difference is in the identity of the official court competent to judge the dispute as it has been given powers by this law. The official court differs according to the nature of the dispute before arbitration.
Article 8 of this law states:
The court of appeal originally deciding the dispute shall have jurisdiction to consider an action to nullify the arbitration award and matters referred to the competent court pursuant to this Law.632
Therefore, according to the Article above, the HCSLD is currently the competent authority to settle the action to nullify an arbitration award in labour disputes in the KSA because it is considered the official authority of appeal in labour disputes in the KSA (as already explained in Chapter 7 of this thesis). The authority of the HCSLD, when considering the action for nullification of an arbitration award in labour disputes, is only restricted to accepting the request for nullification, rejecting the request or ruling on the nullification of the award, without any authority to consider the subject of the dispute, issue a new award in the dispute subject or amend the arbitration award, According to Article 50/4.633
Although The Saudi Arbitration Law of 2012 grants the arbitration parties the right to choose the law applicable to the subject of dispute, it is certainly inadmissible for the parties to the labour arbitration to agree on any law other than the current Saudi Labour Law of 2005 to be applicable to the subject of the dispute. This is because the current Saudi labour law, according to Article 5, is applicable to all labour disputes in the KSA, except whatever is excluded under this law.634Applying the Saudi Labour Law to labour disputes in the KSA is considered public policy. Article 38 of the Saudi Arbitration Law explicitly states that the choice of the law applicable to the subject of the dispute by the parties to the dispute is restricted as it cannot contravene public policy of the KSA, which can never be violated.635 According to the Saudi Arbitration Law of 2012, the arbitration proceedings in labour disputes start from the day the claimant party presents the arbitration request concerning the subject of the dispute to the respondent party, unless both parties agree otherwise.636 The claimant shall send a written statement of claim to the respondent and the arbitration tribunal within the period agreed upon by the two parties to arbitration, or the period determined by the arbitration tribunal if the two parties do not agree on a specific period.637 Also, the respondent shall respond in writing to the statement of claim and state his or her defence.638
632 Ibid art 8. 633Ibid art 50/4. 634Ibid art 5. 635Ibid art 38. 636Ibid art 26. 637 Ibid art 30/1. 638Ibid art 30/2.
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According to Article 32, the two parties to arbitration in labour disputes may amend their requests, defences, and responses or finish them within the arbitration period, unless the arbitration tribunal refuses this in order to prevent delaying the issuance of an award.639
The arbitration tribunal in labour disputes holds oral hearings to resolve the dispute. It also has the right to not hold the hearings, deeming it sufficient to have the memos submitted by the parties to the labour dispute, unless the parties to the arbitration agree otherwise.640 If the arbitration tribunal decides to hold hearings, then it shall notify the parties of the session date in sufficient time prior to the sessions.641
In addition, according to Article 35, the absence of one of the parties to arbitration from arbitration sessions, despite notifying him/her, is not considered a reason for delaying arbitration proceedings. In this case, the arbitration tribunal has the right to proceed with arbitration proceedings and issue its award.642
After each litigant in the labour arbitration case presents his requests and defences, the arbitration tribunal decides closure of the pleadings in the arbitration case. Then the confidential deliberations among the members of the arbitration tribunal starts, and they issue the award, either by a majority or unanimously, according to Article 39/1.643
The arbitration award in labour disputes is issued within the period specified by the parties to the arbitration. If they do not agree on a specific period, then the award is issued within 12 months from the start of arbitration.644 However, the labour arbitration tribunal has the right, in all cases, to extend this period only once and for no more than six months.645
If the arbitration tribunal of labour disputes does not issue an arbitration award within the extra six-month period as stated in Article 40/2, then any party to the arbitration may return to the HCSLD and request an end to or extension of arbitration.646
8.4 Evaluation of the Arbitration Method in Resolving Labour Disputes in the KSA,