Powers and Authorities of the Liquidator According to the Saudi Companies Law

Abstract

In Companies Law, the Saudi regulator has been keen on addressing the provisions regulating the process of liquidating companies. The Companies Law in force has outlined the provisions of liquidation and its procedures, with the duties and responsibilities of the liquidator, the actions required to complete the liquidation process, the rights and duties of the liquidator, his appointment and dismissal, and divided this research into three sections, each divided into two subsections. The first section deals with the definition of the liquidator and how to dismiss him. The second section studies the duties, powers and rights of the liquidator. Then, in the third section, the responsibilities of the liquidator and supervision of his actions are addressed, along with the Saudi judiciary's stance on this regard. This research concludes that the liquidation of companies may be optional or compulsory. The Saudi regulator has worked to reduce the duration of liquidation to only three years, contrary to what was practiced in the Companies Law prior to 1437 AH (2016). In case the specified period is not sufficient for the liquidation, the regulator may allow its extension as needed, after obtaining permission from the competent court. In order to approve the penalties that he imposes on those who violate the liquidation provisions, the regulator has adopted a policy of graduated penalties according to each violation and its penalty, without stipulating a unified penalty.