When it comes to bank-related cases, the large number of semi-judicial committees confuses people. A lack of clarity on their jurisdiction further adds to the problem. In many cases, people have to run from pillar to post to get their minor issues resolved because they don’t know who to contact and where to get specialized legal advice from.
Today, we will be elaborating on the lawsuits related to banking disputes, as such cases fall under the purview of the Banking Disputes Committee.
A case should meet two conditions to be referred to the committee. First, one of the parties to the dispute is a bank and the second is that the problem arises due to the current banking practices in the country.
For example, in some cases, if the financier is a bank, then it will be within the jurisdiction of the Banking Disputes Committee, but if it is not a bank, then the case is referred to the Financial Disputes Committee.
Furthermore, regarding lawsuits that arise from real estate financing contracts, between beneficiaries and real estate financiers, the Banking Disputes Committee will consider them only if the financier is a bank.
The committee has the right to ask parties to the dispute to submit the agreements concluded between them as well as supporting documents.
The committee may also guarantee its decisions with expedited enforceability in specific cases and situations, as the relevant authorities are obliged to implement the final decisions issued by any of the committees as well as decisions of the Executive Committee and urgent decisions.
But how can you file the lawsuit?
First, a statement of claim has to be directed to the secretary-general of the banking committee specifying the claimant’s requests, attaching with it the supporting documents.
The request must be clear and comprehensive, taking into consideration that among the principles adopted by the committee is one that states that the party’s submitted requests will be final.
After the case is filed and registered, the defendant will be notified and given three weeks to respond and once he submits his response, the plaintiff will be requested to respond within three weeks.
The respondent comments on the defendant’s response and, consequently, the defendant will be requested to comment within three weeks. After the response of the defendant is received, the case will be prepared and studied by the committee on a specific date.
As for the appeal, the Banking Disputes Committee’s decision will be considered final and enforceable unless one of the parties submits an appeal within 30 days from the date of receiving his copy of the decision, or from the date specified for receiving the copy of the decision, whichever is earlier.
After that, the decision of the appellate committees is considered final and cannot be objected to before any other party, except when a petition for reconsideration is submitted to the appeals committees. This applies to limited and specific cases stipulated in the law of civil proceedings, such as building the decision on false or adulterated documents.
It is not permissible to hear a case related to banking disputes if five years have passed since the due date of the amount in question, or from the date of discovering the incident in question unless the plaintiff provides an excuse that the committee accepts, and this is one of the things that some people overlook and lose their rights due to negligence.
Dimah Talal Alsharif is a Saudi legal consultant, head of the health law department at the law firm of Majed Garoub and a member of the International Association of Lawyers.
Twitter: @dimah_alsharif
