The Allegiance Council is responsible for determining the King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Crown Prince from among the sons of the Founder-King Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud and the sons of the sons. Upon the King’s death, the Council calls for the pledge of allegiance to the Crown Prince as King of the country. In case of the death of both the King and the Crown Prince at the same time, the Commission would, within a period not exceeding seven days, choose the fittest for governance among the descendants of the Founder-King, and call for pledging allegiance to him per the Allegiance Council Law and the Basic Law of Governance.
Formation of the Allegiance Council
The Allegiance Council was formed on Ramadan 26, 1427 AH/ October 19, 2006 AD. The seat of the Council is in the capital city, Riyadh, and its meetings are held at the Royal Court. With the King’s approval, the meetings may be held at any of the Royal Courts in the Kingdom or any other place specified by the King. The Council has an annual budget, from which the expenditure shall be made according to the rules and instructions approved by the King. A document center is established for the Council to keep its minutes, work, and all related documents and reports. These documents are considered confidential.
Meetings of the Allegiance Council
Meetings of the Council are confidential, held with the King's approval, and attended only by the members and secretary general and the person entrusted with recording its deliberations upon the King's approval. Voting related to the Council's resolutions shall be conducted by secret ballot following a form prepared for this purpose. Under the supervision of the Council, the secretary general counts the votes and announces the results of the vote, if any.
The Council consists of a chairman, members, and a secretary general, and they shall take the oath before the King before undertaking their duties in the Council. The chairman shall start meetings and announce their end, control discussions, give permission to talk, determine the topic of discussion, end discussions, and raise issues for voting. Members of the Council must attend the meetings, and if any member has an excuse for being absent, he should inform the chairman of the Council in writing. No member shall withdraw from a Council meeting before it ends except with the chairman's permission.
Meetings of the Council shall not be valid unless attended by at least two-thirds of its members, including the Chairman of the Council or his representative. In case of a tie, the side that the Chairman of the meeting votes with should outbalance the other. In cases of emergency where the legal quorum is unavailable, meetings of the Council may be held with the presence of half of its members, and the approval of two-thirds of the attending members shall take its resolutions.
Chairmanship of the Allegiance Council
The Council is presided over by the eldest member of the sons of the Founder-King, and he shall be represented by the second eldest of his brothers. In case of their absence, the meeting shall be presided over by the eldest of the sons of the sons in the Council. The Council member must not be less than 22 years of age and must be known for his righteousness and competence. The term of membership in the Council is four non-renewable years, and it is permissible for a member to renew if his brothers agree after obtaining the King's approval. According to the regulation, Council members shall peruse the agenda and enclosures at the place of the Council's meeting. Still, they shall not be entitled to take the Council's documents outside the place of the meeting.
Secretary General for the Allegiance Council
The secretary general of the Allegiance Council is connected to the King and appointed with the rank of a Minister. He is responsible before the King for all the financial and administrative affairs of the Council. The members of the Council and those for whom the secretary-general seeks assistance are obligated to maintain the confidentiality of the information and deliberations perused during their work in the Council. In the event of a breach of this obligation, appropriate penalties shall be applied to the violator per the provisions of the laws and regulations.
The Most Prominent Cases of the Allegiance Council Sessions
Upon the King’s death, the Council holds an instant session to call for the pledge of allegiance to the Crown Prince. The most prominent cases of the Allegiance Council sessions include:
- Suppose the Council is convinced that the King is incapable of exercising his authority for health reasons, the Council shall entrust the medical committee provided for in the regulation to prepare a medical report on the health condition of the King. If the medical report proves the King incapable of exercising his authority, the Council shall prepare minutes to this effect. Henceforth, the King’s authority shall be exercised temporarily by the Crown Prince until the recovery of the King.
- When a written notice from the King reaches the Chairman of the Council informing him that the medical reasons for his inability to exercise his authority no longer exist, the Council shall direct said medical committee to prepare a medical report on the King’s health condition within a period not exceeding 24 hours. If the medical report confirms the ability of the King to exercise his authority, the Council shall prepare minutes to this effect. Henceforth, the King shall resume exercising his authority.
- If the medical report proves that the inability of the King to exercise his authority is permanent, the Council shall prepare minutes to this effect. As such, the Council shall call for the pledge of allegiance to the Crown Prince as King of the Country, provided that these procedures are carried out following the Allegiance Council Law and the Basic Law of Governance within a period not exceeding 24 hours.
- Suppose the Council is convinced that neither the King nor the Crown Prince can exercise his authority for health reasons. In that case, the Council shall request the medical committee stipulated in this Law to prepare a medical report on their health condition. If the medical report confirms their inability to exercise their authority is temporary, the Council shall prepare minutes to this effect. Thus, the Provisional Council of Governance shall run the State's affairs and look after the people's interests until either's recovery.
As per the regulation of the Council, the Council shall form a Provisional Council for Governance comprising five of its members. The Provisional Council shall run the State’s affairs temporarily. Said Council shall in no case have the power to amend the Basic Law of Governance, the Allegiance Council Law, the Law of the Council of Ministers, the Law of the Shura Council, the Law of Provinces, the Law of the National Security Council, or any other law relating to governance, nor to dissolve or reconstitute the Council of Ministers or the Shura Council. The Provisional Council shall, during the transitional period, safeguard the unity of the State, its internal and external interests, and its laws.
The Crown Prince is chosen within a period not exceeding 30 days from the date of the pledge of allegiance to the King. After consultation with members of the Commission, the King nominates one, two, or three candidates from among those he deems fit to be Crown Prince. The nomination is brought before the Council, which shall exert effort to agree on one nominee to become Crown Prince. If the Council does not nominate any of them, it shall nominate whomever it deems eligible to become Crown Prince. The King may ask the Council to nominate whom it deems eligible to be Crown Prince. If the King does not approve the Council's nominee, the Council shall vote on its nominee and another chosen by the King, and the one with the majority of votes shall be named Crown Prince.
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