Civil Transactions Law has been approved; aims to regulate the provisions of contracts and financial dealings in daily public life

The Civil Transactions Law, passed by the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, intends to control contract terms and financial transactions in regular public life. The most important aspects of the law, which is seen as a watershed achievement in the Kingdom's continuing judicial reforms, were published in the Okaz newspaper.

According to the sources, the new legislation governs the terms of contracts and financial transactions in ordinary public life, such as partnerships and sale and lease agreements. When a person does an act that harms another person, causes property damage, or self-harm, the law has remedies to pay damages.

The legislation also defines the criteria that determine the amount of compensation to which the injured party is entitled, establishes guidelines and clauses that ensure creditors receive payment from debtors and strikes a balance between creditors' and debtors' interests.

The law also defines the governing clauses of ownership and lists the constraints on ownership, such as limiting a neighbor’s ability to use his right without harming that neighbor.

The Civil Transactions Law contains rules defining the entitlement to restitution for damages, including lost wages. The aggrieved person has the right to seek compensation for lost earnings, and the court may step in to intervene to secure him compensation for the lost earnings, if the affected person was waiting for gain or profits that are almost certain and then another person harmed him until he lost this realised profit.