I am talking about the Council of Deputies, which no one remembers nowadays, although for 20 years it was very instrumental in developing the administrative regulation, being the clear nucleus of the executive branch in the country, which was taken up by the contemporary Saudi state, during the run up to the unification of the Kingdom, through the three authorities: Legislative, judicial and executive.
It should be noted that the approach to this council was born during the last days of Hashemite rule in Hijaz. The last person to assume the position during the reign of Sharif Ali ibn Al-Husayn (last king of the Ashraf period, until 1925), was Abdullah ibn Siraj, a dignitary of Taif. He was born in Makkah in 1873, studied at the Solti school, and under Ulema. He was a judge, and was in charge of delivering legal opinions according to the Hanafi school of Muslim jurisprudence. He then became the head of government (council of deputies) in the holy city. After that he went with Sharif Abdullah ibn Al-Husayn, after establishing the Kingdom in Transjordan. He became the head of the 10th council of ministers there, during 1931-1933. During his time there, the Saudi and Jordanian kingdoms recognized each other. He died in 1948. He is also the father of Husayn Siraj, an important literary and cultural figure in this country, who died in 2007.
The kingdom of Hijaz, during the Ottoman and Hashemite rule, enjoyed a measure of services, facilities, and administrative regulation that was better than the other parts of the Arabian Peninsula. When the rest totally joined with the Saudi state in later 1925, the new administration in the province of Hijaz, over a period of six years (between 1925 and 1931), underwent a number of gradual and consecutive developments that gave rise to the three constitutional authorities: The judicial, legislative and executive. These developments began with the appointment of Emir Faisal, the second son of Abdul Aziz, who was 20 years old at the time, in the office of the deputy to the king, on Jan. 12, 1926.
Those gradual and accelerated developments led at the end of the six-year period to the establishment of the ruling system of government not only in Hijaz, after the changes made to its political administration of the two kingdoms of Hijaz and Najd under the Saudi reign, but also in the whole country. They also established the three constitutional authorities, which led to the declaration of the unification of the country under one flag and one central political capital city. We can tentatively divide those developments into three paths:
The first path, which led to the outlines and beginnings of the religious and judicial. This is a matter that needs deeper and more comprehensive discussion, and is beyond our subject in this lecture. I believe that its timeline began with the appointment of Sheikh Abdullah ibn Hassan Al Ash-Sheikh as chief judge in Hijaz in 1927, after Sheikh Abdullah ibn Balheed. During that period, the main outlines of the offices in charge of religious affairs began to take shape, in the fields of judiciary, Ifta, endowments, religious sermons, Haj and other affairs of dawa, etc. These became a whole system representing the Shariah and judicial.
The second path deals with the developments that led to the establishment of the second constitutional, is the legislative, through the Islamic method of Shoura (consultative). The timeline began with the declaration of the kingdom of Hijaz as an Islamic Shoura state, through the first constitutional written document.
The developments in this path began with the establishment of the first elected people's council in Makkah, whose head was Abd Al-Qadir Ash-Shaybi. It was established in 1924, in order to run the affairs of Makkah, right after its fall under the Saudi rule, when Husayn ibn Ali, the Hashemite king, abdicated the throne. In six months time, membership of the people's council was expanded to include 18 members, under the chairmanship of Muhammad Al-Marzooqi. A second development was the establishment of the 2nd people's council, in order to run the affairs of the local government in Jeddah after King Ali left. The 2nd council was established in 1925 under the chairmanship of Abdullah Ali Zainal, with Muhammad Naseef, Qasim Zainal, Nasir At-Turki, Ali Salamah, Abdullah At-Turki, and Muhammad Ali Qabil as members.
During that time, an order was issued for the establishment of a small consultative council for the purpose of assisting Emir Faisal in running the affairs of Hijaz, with Abdal-Aziz Al-Ateeqi, Hamzah Al-Fa'r and Shlih Shata as members. (Published in Umm Al-Qura, No. 55, on Jan. 14, 1926).
The fundamental directives of the kingdom of Hijaz were issued on Aug. 31, 1926. It is a document that contained 42 articles, regulating the rule of government in the kingdom of Hijaz under the Saudi rule. Although it was made for Hijaz, it was in fact the first constitutional document that affirmed that it is an Islamic kingdom ruled by the consultative (Shoura) system. It contained precise administrative regulations, like the proposal to establish a Shoura Council, the establishment of council for the provinces and people's councils. It was drawn up by a number of members representing the cities of Hijaz, in addition to five other members. It contained 99 articles in nine sections.
Based on the contents of that document (fundamental directives), an order was issued to establish the consultative (Shoura) council by merging the people's and consultative councils. The chairman was Emir Faisal, with the membership of Abdal-Aziz Al-Ateeqi, Hamzah Al-Fa'r, Hafiz Wahbeh, Husayn Adnan, Sharaf Adnan, Husayn Ba-Salamah, Abdullah Ash-Shaybi, Muhammad Al-Alfi, Abd Ar-Rahman Zawawi, Abd Al-Wahab Attar, Majid Kurdi, and Sharaf Rida, of the Directorate of Finance, and Muhammad Said Abu Al-Khayr from the Directorate of Endowments (Awqaf). (Published in Umm Al-Qura. No. 86, on Aug. 6, 1926).
One year later (on 8/1/1346), the semi-elected Shoura Council replaced the consultative council under the chairmanship of Emir Faisal, with the membership of eight members: Ahamd Subhi, Saleh Shata, Abd Ar-Rahman Zawawi, Abd Al-Wahab Attar, Muhammad Yahya Aqil, Yusuf Qattan, Abdullah Al-Juffali, and Abd Al-Aziz ibn Zayd. That council is the basis of the current council.
The third path, which led to the emergence of the executive (or the council of deputies, the subject of this lecture), began when King Abdul Aziz issued an order to establish the Commission for Inspection and Reform, for the purpose of reviewing the administrative conditions of the state in general. The order was issued months after the issuance of the fundamental directives for the kingdom of Hijaz.
This commission is considered the second most important step taken by the founder king. He took that step in order to recommend the best regulatory structure of the state. Its mandate lasted for several months. It was made up of: Saleh Shata, Sharaf Adnan, Abd Ar-Rahman Al-Gosaibi (father of the late Ghazi Al-Gosaibi), Yusuf Qattan, Muhammad Saleh Naseef, and Sufyan Ba-Najah. Fuad Hamzah was chosen to be the commission secretary. (Published in Umm Al-Qura, on July 8, 1927).
A royal speech was delivered on the opening of the Shoura Council, in its first meeting held in 1927. It was delivered by Hafiz Wahbeh on behalf of King Abdul Aziz. The speech said that the commission had achieved most of the tasks entrusted to it.
Since we mentioned, in passing, the Commission for Inspection and Reform, and before that we mentioned the founding panel that issued the fundamental directives, I would like to state here that serious and in-depth research needs to be done on the history and achievement of these two commissions, and on verifying the names of their respective members. The idea and method behind their formation is a positive indication of the enlightened dynamic and reformative way of thinking of King Abdul Aziz and his son Emir Faisal. The second commission, for example, was based on two practical cornerstones: Field inspection, i.e., looking for points of malfunction or dysfunction, through meeting with people and listening to their complaints and opinions, and after that making recommendations for administrative reforms, and submitting the findings to the king.
From the snippets of information available here and there, one gathers that the commission did make inspection visits on the service organizations, and set up a box in a public place, at the corner of the Makkah Haram, for complaints and remarks.
Thus we read in the memoirs of Muhammad Husayn Zaydan, entitled: Memories from Three Periods: The Ottoman, the Ashraf, and the Saudi (published in 2011), that the commission visited the holy city of Madinah and made proposals on how to reform the conditions there. There are other documents which show that it did investigate a number of complaints, the findings of which were contained in a report of the Directorate of Publications, dated 15/1/136 [sic], and published in Umm Al-Qura (No. 135). As a result of the findings, Abdal-Aziz Al-Ateeqi and Sharif Husayn Adnan were dismissed from government service.
The documents indicate a number of recommendations and projects for administrative reform that were referred to the king for consideration. Of these recommendations, we mention the drawing up of the first regulations for the Shoura Council, an administration for Police and the municipality, the establishment of an education council, a council for Zubaydah spring, and the establishment of a supervisory commission (an executive council) to handle coordination among the various government agencies. This council later became the Council of Deputies (the subject of this lecture).
From this synoptic narrative, we see that the regulation of the rules of government - which began when the kingdom of Hijaz became part of the Saudi state - went through various stages. These began with regulating the affairs of the Hijaz province under Saudi rule, and reached culmination through the complete organization of the sate, and the establishment of the three branches of government: The judiciary, the legislative, and the executive.
It is to be noted that until the year 1931, there were no ministries in Hijaz - where the first instances of government agencies where established - except the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - the first such ministry - which was entrusted to Emir Faisal in 1930, as an upgrade of the directorate of foreign affairs, which was headed at the time of its establishment (in 1925) by Abdullah Ad-Damlooji, who was one of the first advisers to King Abdul Aziz, and who returned to Iraq, his original country, to serve as minister of foreign affairs. After Ad-Damlooji, it was headed by Fuad Hamzah, a Lebanese political figure who then became the first deputy minister after the directorate was made into a ministry.
Then in 1931 the Ministry of Interior was established, which comprised the directorates of services (security, health, the municipalities, telegraph, and post, etc.). It was headed by Emir Faisal, but a high order, dated in 1934, combined the tasks of the ministry with the Office of the Council of Deputies. It was re-established in 1950, with Emir Abdullah Al-Faisal as minister. The Ministry of Finance was established a year later (in 1932), contrary to what many believe that it was the first and foremost ministry.
Among these developments in 1931, the Council of Deputies was established. The title "deputies" was taken from the title of deputies for the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Finance and the Shoura Council. Ottoman documents indicate that the term "deputies" was used in Ottoman provinces to refer to the council of ministers (the government). The first members of the council - in addition to Emir Faisal - included: Abdullah As-Sulayman (deputy of fiscal affairs, who later became the minister of finance in the following year); his brother, Hamad As-Sulayman, who was director general of finance departments and later became deputy minister of finance; Yusuf Yaseen (as head of the political section at the royal bureau); Fuad Hamzah (as deputy minister of foreign affairs); and Abdullah Al-Fadl (as vice chairman of the Shoura Council).
On later dates, a number of other members joined the council: Muhammad Eid Ar-Rawwaf (administrative officer of Jeddah); Ibrahim As-Sulayman Al-Aqeel (chief of staff of Emir Faisal); Sharaf Rida; Abdullah Ibrahim Al-Fadl; Saleh Shata; Abd Al-Aziz Al Ibrahim; and Khalid Abu Al-Waleed. There may have been others too.
While Abdullah Muhammad Abu Al-Fadl was first vice-chairman of the Shoura Council, he became also vice-chairman of the Council of Deputies. At a later date, the name of Nayif Ash-Shaalan appeared as assistant to the chairman (Umm Al-Qura, 21/4/1363).
During the time in which the council of deputies was in existence, which lasted for about 20 years, Emir Faisal was its official chairman. During his absence, the following persons served as acting chairmen: Emir Muhammad ibn Abdul Aziz, Emir Khalid ibn Abdul Aziz, Emir Mansoor ibn Abdul Aziz, Emir Abdullah Al-Faisal, and Sheikh Abdullah Muhammad Al-Fadl.
Matters of foreign affairs - especially correspondence, and international treaties and agreements - were administered by King Abdul Aziz, and implemented by the political section of the royal bureau or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Council of Deputies for the holy capital was - by way of its regulations - in charge of making the general internal policy of the state. It used to convene on a daily basis, where opinions could be freely expressed and contested. Later it used to convene on a weekly basis. When the duties became too many, an executive commission was drawn up - called the standing commission of the Council of Deputies. This commission used to convene on a daily basis, to discuss summary matters, for referral, together with recommendations, to the council, either to settle the matter or to refer it to the king for review and direction. There are samples of the decisions taken by the council, with the member signatures. There are other documents that found their way to the royal bureau of King Abdul Aziz, in a highly organized manner. That commission was made up of Abdullah Al-Fadl (chairman); with the membership of Hashim Sultan, Muhammad ibn Sultan, and Muhammad As-Sulayman At-Turki. It was drawn up by royal decree No. 14-2-4, dated 23/2/1352).
We can say that with the establishment of the Shoura Council in 1926, then the Council of Deputies in 1931, the establishment of the constitutional institutions of the state was complete. This paved the way for the declaration of the unification of the Kingdom at a later date (in 1932).
We can also say that the monopoly of the old Shoura Council, for more than six years, on the general internal policy of the state, made it monopolize the legislative and executive duties. After the establishment of the Council of Deputies, a division of labor began to appear between the two councils, even if there was some overlapping and duplication of work among them. But that was addressed through the possibility of holding common meetings between the two councils. In addition, there were common members in the two councils, foremost among them the chairman (Emir Faisal) and his vice-chairman (Al-Fadl).
Since all the modern government agencies emerged and developed in Hijaz, the seat of the council was in Makkah. Here we must mention that Emir Faisal used to act in place of his father, King Abdul Aziz, when the king was out of town. But when he was in town, Emir Faisal was called Chairman of the Shoura Council and chairman of the Council of Deputies, in addition to being the minister of foreign affairs and minister of interior. The same was true of Emir Saud, the crown prince, who was acting for the king in running the affairs of Riyadh, the political capital, and the other provinces, when his father was not present.
Two months after directing the establishment of the council, on 82/6/1350, King Abdul Aziz issued the detailed regulations of the council on Dec. 29, 1931. It was promulgated in the official gazette (Umm Al-Qura, on Jan. 15 1932), in 27 articles, detailing the chairmanship, the tasks, the authority to which it reports, and the agencies that report to the council, in addition to its operational procedures. Here are some of the articles:
- The council is made up of its chairman, together with the deputies for foreign affairs and finance, and the Shoura Council. It is important to notice that the chairman of the Council of Deputies will act for the king when he is not present.
- The council derives its strength from the king. It is in charge of the general - internal - policy of the state.
- The regulations of the deputy of the king in summary matters.
- The council is the administrative authority of the royal bureau, the foreign affairs, the interior, the military affairs, the chief justice, and the governors of the provinces.
- The Ministry of Interior is the authority responsible for the matters of health, education, post, telegraph, quarantines, general police, and the municipalities, in addition to the courts in case they do not report to their superiors.
- The deputy general is divided into two divisions: Ministry of Interior and the Office of the Chairman of the Council of Deputies. The name "deputy general" is changed to Ministry of Interior.
The founding king used to receive regular reports from his deputy, evaluating the performance of the legislative and executive authorities. He was quick to respond to the ideas of development and reform. For example, his 1937 initiative with regard to the Council of Deputies, the update of the regulations of the council (requiring the attendance of the heads of the government agencies that have cases under review, to participate in the discussions). He also issued (in 1939) additions to the regulations, giving wider authorities to his deputy (i.e. chairman of the council), with the exception of the implementation of Shariah rulings on major crimes, which have to be referred to the king first.
The most major development, however, was taken by King Abdul Aziz shortly before his death. He issued the regulations under a royal decree, dated Oct. 9, 1953, to establish a Council of Ministers. The council, however, was not established except after the death of the king (16/12/1373).
It is to be noted that the office of the Deputy General, after the establishment of the Council of Ministers, became a bureau for the chairman of the Council of Ministers, starting from 1954. The first head of the office of the Deputy General was Ibrahim As-Salam Al-Aqeel, who was director of the bureau of the Deputy General and a member of the Council of Ministers.
Most of the council's decisions used to be issued on a single basis. Each decision has a separate number, date and subject. When you peruse the indexes of the national archives for that period, you will find hundreds of decisions issued by the Shoura Council and the Council of Deputies, dealing with many internal legislative and executive issues. You may be surprised by the great number of laws and regulations coming one after the other in rapid succession, during the founding period, notwithstanding the modest legal expertise and cultural means. I hope this will encourage scholars to conduct further research on the subject.
Not much has been written on the Council of Deputies. What I included in this lecture is based on well-documented historical data, and makes use of the materials published by the official gazette Umm Al-Qura. There were two questions that kept recurring during the preparation of this lecture. That was the case until I was able to consult samples of 300 documents in the Institute of Public Administration. These documents helped me become aware of the types of subjects that were handled by the council and upon which its decisions were made:
The first question: Was there a separation in the (legislative) of Shoura Council and the (executive) of the Council of Deputies?
The second question: Was the Council of Deputies able to extend its supervisory - assumed by its very regulations - all over the country after the unification of the Kingdom?
Or maybe this was achieved only after the Council of Deputies was changed into the Council of Ministers, where the first eight ministries were established?
The sample documents that I consulted show that the council - as well as its regulations - were not limited in their dealings to the Hijaz province. Most transactions, however, were dealing, not deliberately, with Makkah and Madinah, then the southern and northeastern provinces, then the rest of the provinces. Maybe this was the case as a result of cultural considerations, geographical proximity and the modus operandi of Emir Faisal.
The documents show a clear perspective of jurisdiction between the two councils and a high degree of organization. They also emphasize the complementary relations between them. Thus we find many of the decisions taken by the Council of Deputies were approved or based on decision taken by the Shoura Council. However, the strong impression that a researcher takes is that the Council of Deputies handled, with great efficiency, all matter large and small. It almost left nothing to individual opinions. This, again, is expression of the organizational mindset of Emir Faisal, and of the support rendered by King Abdul Aziz to institutional work, and of the capability of the members, their selection, and the variety of their specializations.
However, a definitive answer to the above two questions - which confused some of the students of the Council of Deputies - can be achieved only through a rigorous and meticulous study of the documents of the two councils, and through analysis of their contents. We know that the council rendered judgments on hundreds of the cases. It was also a house of sound administrative expertise that paved the way for the council of ministers, which was entrusted with greater responsibilities, and made possible a wide and thorough supervision on the state's agencies and the various provinces of the country, in a way that was more in line with the modern constitutional developments.
The documents of the Council of Deputies (from its inception in 1931 until changing its status in 1953) are kept in various national archives centers. Many of the documents are kept in the archives of the Ministry of Interior. The ministry holds also the documents the Office of the Deputy General and the affairs of the provinces. These documents are supposed to be kept with the general secretariat of the Council of Ministers, which is the heir to the Council of Deputies by way of extension. Some of the documents are kept in the National Center of Documents and Archives, which is part of the royal bureau because it keeps the documents of the political section. A good number of the documents (more than 2,000 of them) are kept in electronic format at the Institute of Public Administration in Riyadh. I would say that a research project that makes use of all these documents would be a considerable scholarly work.
I have access to a limited sample of the documents related to the council and its decisions. I will in the following paragraphs review some of them.
I will start with the first document that registers the establishment of the Council of Deputies. It is dated 28/6/1350, prior to the issuance of the council regulations. It is a letter from King Abdul Aziz to his deputy in Hijaz (Emir Faisal), in response to a report submitted by the emir to the king on 3/6/1350, giving, as it seems, approval to a suggestion made by Emir Faisal for the establishment of a Council of Deputies. The document is important because of the king's assertion that the council is tantamount to government. The letter reads as follows:
"The government that is drawn up with you as the premier, and to which is assigned various internal and foreign tasks, and the council of which we direct that it be formed of your person, the deputy for foreign affairs, and the deputy of finance, together with the chairman of the Shoura Council, shall be entrusted with the following tasks: The government will be totally responsible in joint fashion. It's head will be the vehicle through which our orders will be relayed to the government agencies, and to whom they shall report in their official dealings. The Deputy General shall be the chief among the deputies, and he will report to us about the workings and performance of the government and deputies."
The second document, No, 52, dated 19/2/1357, is about a request made by the directorate of general security for the appointment of a responsible authority in Jazan to handle the applications of the people seeking Saudi citizenship. This document is important because it is an example of dozens of transactions, which shows that the jurisdiction of the council was kingdomwide.
Another document, issued by the royal bureau (political section), signed by the section head Yusuf Yaseen, on 9/2/1354, to the chairman of the Council of Deputies, advising of the king's endorsement of a request by the Foreign Ministry to pay an amount of money to the order of the management and printer of Umm Al-Qura, for expenses incurred in printing the green book that deals with past events in Yemen (in 1353). The letter is kept in the national central libraries. It is also kept in the Institute of Public Administration in Riyadh. It is important because it highlights the documentary sense that was predominant during that period. That crisis, and other crises, was documented in printed books.
A third document, which is a letter sent by the head of the royal bureau to the deputy of the king in Hijaz, dated 30/10/1358, advising of the endorsement of the king of the decision of the Council of Deputies, requiring that every letter to be printed shall be submitted to the office of general deputy, in order to order its printing, including the letters of the chief judge. This document shows that the council does not approve everything that is referred to it, including letters of the office of the chief judge.
There is also another document (Umm Al-Qura, No. 440, dated 24/1/1352), saying that the Shoura Council and the Council of Deputies issued a joint decision on May 11, 1933 declaring Emir Saud to be the crown prince and seeking the pledge of allegiance for him. The persons who signed the decision, in addition to Emir Faisal, who was head of the two councils, and Sheikh Abdullah ibn Hassan Al Ash-Shaikh (chief judge), and Muhammad Al-Marzooqi (a member of the verification commission), Ahmad Qari (judge of Makkah), were the members of the Council of Deputies and the Shoura Council. Their names are as follows:
Yusuf Yaseen, Fuad Hamzah, Abdullah As-Sulayman, Abdullah Muhammad Al-Fadl, Saleh Shata, Muhammad Sharaf Rida, Abdullah Ash-Shaybi, Abd Al-Wahab Naib Al-Haram, Muhammad Mighayrbi Abu-Futayh, Abd Al-Wahab Attar, Ahmad Ibrahim Al-Ghazzawi, Abdullah Al-Juffali, and Husayn Ba-Salamah.
A quick reading of the sample of documents at the Institute of Public Administration will show that the Council of Deputies, together with the Shoura Council, adopted a number of regulations, some of which are still in until the present day. For example:
"Inspection of showrooms, sorting of commercial deeds and documents, the administrative regulations of the Shariah courts, Saudi citizenship, the municipalities, proceedings at law, roads and buildings, work, and bidding procedures."
The council also ruled on the interpretation of the articles of the regulations, approved the budgets of a number of the state sectors, and ruled on the settlements of disputes."
The Council of Deputies, which lasted for nearly 20 years, issued hundreds of documents, showing that the council performed its duties as one of the cornerstones of government in the country, and was a nucleus of the executive. However, this is a large subject that cannot be condensed in one lecture. So we need a documenting agency or a specialized researcher to compile an encyclopedia showing the history and development of the council, which was a milestone in the development of the country.
In the end, they're a bibliographical note and a note of thanks.
Regulations of the Council of Deputies:
Issued on 19/8/1350, and published in Umm Al-Qura on 7/9/1350.
The Council of Deputies is made up of the council chairman, deputy for foreign affairs, deputy for finance, and the Shoura.
1- The Council of Deputies is made up of the council chairman, deputy for foreign affairs, deputy for finance, and the Shoura.
2- During the absence of his majesty the king, the chairman of the Council of Deputies becomes a deputy of the king and discharges his function as a general deputy to his majesty. During the times on which the king is present, the chairman will be only the head of the Council of Deputies.
3- In addition to being the deputy general, he assumes the chairmanship of the council at the present time, and he will be the minister of interior and foreign affairs and in charge of the military.
4- The Council of Deputies shall have a bureau, to be headed by a chief who is responsible for running its operations. From the said bureau shall be issued letters to the agencies and directorates. These letters shall be issued by the Council of Deputies or by its chairman, in his capacity as chairman of the council or as a deputy to the king when the king is not present.
5- The powers of the Council of Deputies are vested in it by his majesty the king. The deputies shall report jointly to his majesty the king in matters dealing with the general policy of the state. Each will be responsible for the operations of his ministry.
6- Decisions of the council are taken on the basis of majority. In order to enforce any decision, it has to be signed by the majority, including the deputy under whose authority the decision falls.
7- In case there is a difference of opinion among deputies with regard to a certain matter, or if there is an objection to a decision taken by the majority, the council chairman, when he is in charge of the office of deputy general, and if the matter is serious, he may enforce that decision (and he will be responsible to it). If the matter can be postponed until it is presented to his majesty the king for review, he shall postpone it until he consults with his majesty in order to obtain the high order.
8- The deputies may inquire among themselves and ask for a written statement of what their colleagues did regarding an earlier decision to be enforced by those colleagues or by one of them. The deputy in question shall present the needed statement upon request. In case he declines to do so, and in case it was not possible to reconcile the two parties, the matter maybe referred to his majesty.
9- The chairman of the council is the vehicle through which the royal orders will be relayed to the government agencies, and to whom they shall report in their official dealings.
10- If a deputy or any other person in charge or any subordinate thought of a something new that is beneficial or that stops harm, and if that something is not regulated by the government regulations or if there was no stipulation regarding it under said regulations, he may write to the council chairman so that he can review the matter and make observations, then refer the matter, along with the observations, to his majesty the king so that the king issues his high order with regard to the matter.
11- If the council chairman issued an order to one of the deputies to enforce a matter for which there was no stipulation in the regulations, or if it was not among the decisions taken by the council, but the deputy in charge was in contravention of the decision or has an objection against it, the deputy in question shall immediately implement that order if it was in writing and based on a royal order (referencing its number and date), or refer the matter to his majesty the king if it was not included in the said royal order.
12- The council convenes in the evening when the majority of its members are present in one place. In any case, the council shall convene on a weekly basis during the day or in the evening in order to discuss and finalize all the matters that are referred to it and that are prepared and outlined by the [royal] bureau.
13- If a deputy absents himself, and there were matters that require his presence (because they have to do with his office), this should not be reason to postpone matters. The necessary decisions shall be duly issued and relayed to the deputies, including the absent deputy. If he has an objection against the decision taken during his absence, he shall write it immediately to the chairman and to his colleagues in order to suspend implementation until after the meeting and review. If he has no legitimate objection to that decision, it shall be enforced. If the person who absented himself does not object within 24 hours of his receipt of the decision taken during his absence, this shall be taken as an acknowledgment of the decision, unless there was a legitimate reason that constrained him from writing about his objection. Otherwise the decision shall be enforced.
14- Council decisions shall be conveyed to the deputies responsible for its enforcement, in accordance with council decision No. 7, made during session No. 6, held on the night of 15 and 16/5/1350.
15- The minutes of each session held by the deputies shall be recorded. Each decision shall be recorded separately. A copy of the signed minutes shall be kept in the bureau, and copies of the minutes will be distributed. In addition, a clean copy of the minutes shall be included in a general record, to be kept for this purpose according to serial numbers.
16- The chairman of the council is the authority for the following entities:
1.The royal bureau 2. Foreign affairs 3. Finance 4. Military 5. Shoura 6.Interior 7. Office of the chief judge. 8. Governors of the provinces. As for the other agencies, they shall report to their superior department, and the main directorate shall report to the council.
17- Ministry of Interior is the entity in charge of the following departments:
1. Health 2. Education 3. Post and Telegraph 4. Quarantines 5. General police 6. Shariah courts (when they do not report to their superior directorate) 7. The municipalities
18- Article 17 does mean that the departments cannot consult his highness the emir in any matters. It means that when a transaction is reported in the name of the minister of interior and reached the bureau, the bureau then refers it to the interior without taking action.
19- The present office of the deputy general shall be divided into two divisions: One that reports to the Ministry of Interior and remains in the place of the present office of the deputy general, and the transactions shall remain as before. Another division that refers to the chairmanship of the council. When this division takes place, the departments will be advised accordingly, so that correspondence shall be directed to the Ministry of Interior if it has to do with it, or to the chairmanship of the council if it was one of the departments that directly report to the chairmanship.
20- The present title of the present office of the Deputy General shall be changed into "the Ministry of Interior". The name of the bureau shall be called bureau of the deputy general and office of the chairman of the council of deputies.
21- Transactions signed by his highness the emir shall be divided as follows:
1- The papers signed while his highness is assuming the office of the deputy of the king during his majesty's absence. These are signed thus: The general deputy of his majesty the king.
2- The papers signed while his majesty is present or when his highness is only the chairman of the Council of Deputies. These are signed thus: Chairman of the Council of Deputies.
3- The papers issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These are signed thus: Minister of foreign affairs.
4- The papers issued by the Ministry of Interior. These are signed thus: Minister of interior.
22- The departments shall be notified of this division so that they follow it the transactions issued by them and the transactions sent from the departments to his highness the emir.
23- The bureau shall be organized so that its transactions related to each department or to each matter shall be classified in a manner that facilitates the perusal of these transactions in a timely manner. The records of these transactions, or copies of the letters issued or received in this regard, shall be kept in well-organized manner.
24- We recommend that the bureau be organized as follows: Office of the bureau chief - His assistant - Director of telegrams - Office of records and archives - Transactions of the Council of Deputies - Transactions of the departments and the royal bureau - Secretaries and clerks.
25- The chief of the bureau is the link among the departments. He is the chief assistant of the emir, and he attends the council of deputies, participates in its work, and he is authorized to have complete supervision of the transactions of the bureau.
26- The assistant is directly responsible for the day-to-day business of the bureau. He shall supervise the bureau staff, keeping of records, recording of correspondence and responding to it, etc. The other employees have their own work to do, and if needed, they can be assigned an assistant, and that employed shall record and distribute the transactions given to him for processing.
27- Staff assignments in the interior will be conducted in a manner that is sufficient to run the work. Surplus employees shall be transferred to the bureau of the chairmanship of the council.
