Law of Procedure before the Board of Grievances

Purpose and scope

• Governs procedure before the administrative courts of the Board of Grievances, including claims against government bodies, annulment of administrative decisions, compensation for them, administrative contract disputes and employees' rights.
• The Law of Procedure before Sharia Courts applies where there is no text, as far as compatible with administrative disputes.

Key rules, rights and obligations

• In most cases an annulment claim must be preceded by a mandatory grievance to the issuing body, or it is not accepted.
• The claimant must have a direct personal interest in annulment, and the decision must be final and affect his position.
• The court may suspend an administrative decision temporarily on request where its execution would have irreparable effects.
• Claims for compensation for administrative decisions or acts, and government contract claims, have their own conditions and periods.

Violations, penalties and common problems

• Missing the grievance or filing period is among the most common reasons administrative claims are rejected on form.
• Filing an administrative claim in the general courts, or the reverse, wastes time.
• Not keeping proof of when the decision became known or when the grievance was filed makes deadlines hard to compute.

Procedures and key deadlines

• Grievance to the issuing body within sixty days of learning of the decision by notification or publication (Article 8).
• Annulment claim within sixty days of learning the grievance was rejected, or of sixty days passing without a decision (Article 8).
• Civil or military service rights are not heard ten years after the right arose, unless acknowledged or the court accepts an excuse; a mandatory grievance comes first (Article 8).
• Appeal against an administrative court judgment within thirty days of receiving the judgment copy or the date set for collecting it (Article 33).

An advisory summary prepared by Al-Bayan Al-Wadih Law Firm. It is not an official text and does not replace the law, its implementing regulations, or advice from a specialised lawyer. The official published text and its amendments prevail.