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The legislation forms part of the Kingdom’s broader judicial modernisation agenda Eversheds Sutherland reported in its July 2026 insight. It replaces the prior Enforcement Law with exceptions for precautionary attachment and insolvency rules that continue until updated procedures take effect under the Civil Procedures Law. Implementing regulations from the Minister of Justice must be issued within 180 days and will apply from the same effective date the law firm noted.
Enforceable instruments have been tightened under the new regime according to the Eversheds Sutherland assessment. Negotiable instruments are limited to bills of exchange and electronically registered promissory notes while ordinary acknowledgments must now be notarised and settlement agreements gain recognition when authenticated. A one-year transitional window applies to pre-existing instruments that meet certain conditions Latham & Watkins stated in its June 2026 client alert.
A 10-year limitation period now governs enforcement applications from the date a right becomes due Eversheds Sutherland found. Grounds for resisting foreign judgments and arbitral awards have been narrowed with no re-examination of merits though reciprocity public policy and a new pending action clause remain in place. Reed Smith highlighted in its May 2026 briefing that registration on the national Nafith platform becomes mandatory for qualifying commercial papers.
Asset disclosure and tracing receive dedicated new stages in the law King & Spalding explained in its analysis. Debtors must reveal assets upon notification while courts can compel details from third parties and government bodies are required to respond within three days. Post-notification transactions that dissipate assets can be set aside and post-attachment dealings become void the firm added.
The reforms shift emphasis from the debtor’s person toward asset recovery for monetary obligations according to the Eversheds Sutherland overview. Imprisonment is removed as an automatic tool for debt claims in favour of capped daily penalties travel bans of up to three years and other measures though it persists for non-monetary refusals. Criminal sanctions for obstruction or significant dissipation reach up to three years in prison or a one million Saudi riyal fine with the Saudi Press Agency reporting that the Justice Minister welcomed the changes as advancing overall judicial efficiency.
