JEDDAH: In what has been hailed as a first in Saudi Arabia, the Court of Grievances here issued 18 verdicts compelling the Ministry of Transport to compensate citizens whose lands were claimed by imminent domain for the construction of the Jeddah-Jizan coastal road.
The ministry had previously rejected a ruling on the grounds that an article in the law concerning the acquisition of property for public interest stipulated that there was no compensation, in some cases, for real estate owners. The judicial committee refuted the ministry's claim and said that not compensating owners for the acquisition of their properties is against Shariah.
“All regulations in Saudi Arabia are based on the Qur'an and the Sunnah. So refusing to compensate people whose properties are confiscated for the public interest is against Islam,” the court said giving the ministry a month to appeal.
The ministry had objected to the previous ruling saying that Article 3 of the Regulations of the Acquisition of Property gave some leeway concerning compensation to owners. According to the ministry, the article allows acquisition of lands for such purposes by imminent domain without compensating the owner. For example, if the government takes land over 10,000 square meters, but only ends up using up to 12 percent of it for the actual needed development (while still retaining the rest), then it is only required to compensate owners for that proportion of the land that is actually developed, even if the undeveloped land remains in control of the government. This rule applies to undeveloped land, not commercial properties or housing.
But the Court of Grievances disagreed saying that according to the Sunnah and the Qur'an, the reimbursement must be for the total appraised value of all land that falls under the imminent domain order.
Imminent domain laws are necessary for governments to intercede on private rights in cases where projects are necessary for the well-being of the country or citizens, such as for expanding or building roads or power plants.
