General Commission for the Guardianship of Trust Funds for Minors and their Counterparts

The General Commission for the Guardianship of Trust Funds for Minors and Their Counterparts is an entity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia responsible for the guardianship of funds with no custodian. In addition to managing and developing the assets of those covered by the guardianship system of minors' funds and their equivalents, it oversees the actions of guardians, custodians, and legal representatives.

The Commission was established under its current name in 2006. However, the regulation of the affairs of minors and their equivalents dates back to five years before the proclamation of the unification of the Kingdom by its founder, King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud. The first administrative system in the Kingdom was issued during the reign of King Abdulaziz, which is the law of the conditions of Sharia courts and their formations in 1927. Then, a law was issued in 1938 centralizing the responsibilities of the Sharia judiciary. This law was reformulated in 1953 and specialized in organizing the work of the financial houses in courts.

The main headquarters of the General Commission for the Guardianship of Trust Funds of Minors and Their Counterparts is located in Riyadh, the capital. The Authority has offices spread across eight regions: Riyadh, Makkah-al-Mukarramah, al-Madina al-Munawwarah, Aseer, Eastern Province, al-Jouf, al-Qassim, and Jazan. According to its organizational structure, the Commission manages several departments, including the General Audit Department, the Governance and Compliance Department, the General Department of Legal Affairs, and the General Department of Relations and Media.

In 2016, the Board of Directors of the General Commission for the Guardianship of Trust Funds of Minors and Their Counterparts approved the establishment of the Wilayah Investment Company. The Commission subscribed to the entire capital, which amounts to SAR500,000, and all the issued shares, numbering fifty thousand shares. The capital amount was deposited in the National Commercial Bank, as evidenced by the certificate issued by the bank. The Commission wholly owns the company.

The General Commission for the Guardianship of Trust Funds for Minors and their Counterparts performs several tasks and roles, including managing the funds of the absentees, the missing, and those without a known heir. It also looks after the funds of those with limited or no legal capacity for whom the competent court hasn't appointed a custodian to manage their finances. Moreover, it preserves disputed inheritances, blood money, and other assets until the legitimate decision is finalized. Additionally, it manages the funds of minors and unborn children who have neither a guardian nor a custodian, and it safeguards the assets of unidentified individuals, found properties, and stolen items until they are returned to their rightful owners.

The Commission has a legal personality and an independent budget. It is affiliated with the Prime Minister and has a Board of Directors whose chairman is appointed by a Royal Decree. The board is the supreme authority responsible for the affairs of the Commission, managing its matters, and formulating the general policy. In 2018, a Decree was announced to appoint the Minister of State, Dr. Hamad bin Mohammed Al al-Sheikh, as the chairman of the Commission's Board of Directors.

The Commission has a chairman who, along with the members of the Board of Directors, is appointed by a resolution of the Council of Ministers, based on a proposal from the Minister of Justice.

The bylaws of the General Commission for the Guardianship of Trust Funds for Minors and their Counterparts constitute the legal foundation for the operations of the Commission. A section of these bylaws details the cases in which the Commission's guardianship over the concerned individuals ends. The most prominent of these cases include the minor reaching the age of maturity and proving that legally or his/her death unless the competent court sees a valid reason for the continuation of the guardianship based on a request from this Commission or the stakeholders, the lifting of restrictions on those under interdiction, the return of guardianship to the guardian, the return of the absent or missing person, or the proof of the existence of an heir, or identification of the unknown based on the judgment of the competent court. The competent court may also terminate the Commission's guardianship over any individual covered by this regulation if it sees it's in their best interest.