Law on the Rights and Care of the Elderly

Purpose and scope

• Protects the rights of older persons, meaning citizens aged sixty or over, and provides care for those in need (Article 1); an older person is in need if unable, wholly or partly, to secure life's necessities (Article 5).

Key rules, rights and obligations

• An older person has the right to live with their family, which must house and care for them (Article 3), and may be placed in a care home only with consent, by court order or in dangerous situations (Article 4).
• Support falls on the spouse (the wife if she wishes), then a capable father, then a son, then a grandson, then a brother; if they disagree, the competent court names the provider in the older person's interest (Article 6).
• Maintenance follows the Sharia rules on support (Article 7), and if the provider cannot pay and no one else in the family can, the ministry provides assistance (Article 8).
• The ministry provides assistive medical devices without charge to those in need (Article 10), who also get priority for basic government services, especially health and social services (Article 11), and a privilege card (Article 12).

Violations, penalties and common problems

• A provider may not dispose of an older person's money without consent or deliberately neglect their care, and anyone given authority over their money may not misuse it (Article 15).
• Breaching the right to live with family or these prohibitions: up to one year in prison, a fine of up to five hundred thousand riyals, or both, with possible doubling for a repeat (Article 16).
• The court may impose an alternative sentence of service to older persons (Article 18), and the heavier penalty applies if the act is a crime under another law (Article 17).
• Private care homes that admit an older person without consent, and bodies that deny priority or discounts: a fine of up to one hundred thousand riyals (Article 20).

Procedures and key deadlines

• The Public Prosecution investigates support and money violations and prosecutes before the competent court (Article 19).
• A ministry committee hears violations by care homes and service bodies and imposes penalties (Article 20).
• The ministry acts as guardian of an older person lacking capacity if a court finds they have no guardian or the guardian has abandoned them (Article 14).

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.