The Arbitral Proceedings Under the New Saudi Arbitration Law : A Comparison with International Rules

The new Saudi Arbitration Law provides the arbitrating parties the freedom to rely on procedural rules of their choosing, as long as they do not conflict with the principles of Islamic Sharia. This liberty and autonomy for the parties are similar to the UNCITRAL Model Law as will be presented in this paper. In addition, when the arbitrating parties have not agreed on the procedural rules to be applied in the arbitration process, the new Saudi Arbitration Law sets forth a detailed arbitration procedure and that includes features commonly used in international commercial arbitration practices in the different stages of the arbitration process, such as pleadings, witness statements, expert reports and hearings. Hence, this paper will address the arbitral proceedings under the new Saudi Arbitration Law comparing them with the international arbitration rules