The bill was approved Monday at the council's session
chaired by Vice Chairman Bandar bin Mohammed Hamzah Hajjar.
The draft marriage law prepared by a special committee appointed by
the council contained 13 articles that outlined the social, cultural,
environmental and religious impact on Saudi men marrying non-Saudi women and
Saudi women marrying non–Saudis.
The bill allows Saudi men and women to marry nationals from
the Gulf countries since they belong to the same religion and are supported by
identical cultures.
Secretary-General Muhammed Al-Ghamdi explained that
applications for marriages where a Saudi marrying a non-Saudi from countries
outside the GCC should be made three months prior to the official Nikah
ceremony.
Such applicants have to submit their proposal to a special
committee in their respective governorates. The committee would forward the
application with its recommendations to the governorate for necessary approval
by the Ministry of Interior.
According to Al-Ghamdi, such a committee would comprise
senior government servants from the ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs,
Justice, Social Affairs and the Saudi Human Rights Commission.
It is laid down in the proposed law that the marriage should
be solemnized in accordance with Islamic law and there should not be an age
difference of more than 25 years between the bride and groom. It is also specifically
mentioned that both parties should be free from diseases and they should not be
victims of drug related problems.
The house said that violation of any part of the act will be
subject to a fine of not more than SR100,000 to the Saudi national who opts to
marry a non-Saudi ignoring local regulations.
It was also said that the collection of such fines should be
diverted to the Ministry of Social Affairs, which in turn will offer those
funds to organizations that help young Saudis get married.
The members said that family is the nucleus of society and a
stable and secure family would contribute to the development of society
according to Islamic law.
