CMA approves amendments to securities disputes proceedings regulation

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The Capital Market Authority's (CMA) board issued approved today the amendments to the resolution of securities disputes proceedings regulation (amended regulation) to be effective as of the date of their publication, according to CMA's statement.

The amended regulation is aimed to further improve the proceedings of securities disputes before the committees for resolution of securities disputes and the procedures that enhance the speed and efficiency of considering and adjudicating lawsuits. The amended regulation is also aimed to develop aspects that would promote confidence in the capital market's participants, support its growth and prosperity, and reaffirm investors' protection, the statement added.

The main elements of the amended regulation are as follows:

1) Regulating the procedures for utilizing the electronic platform for proceedings before the committees for Resolution of Securities Disputes in proceedings, including in relation to submitting and filing the statement of claim with the committee, holding remote hearings, exchanging memoranda, issuing decisions, and appeal decisions.

2) Adding a requirement on capital market institutions and listed joint stock companies to be represented by an attorney or legal representative licensed in the Kingdom in all suits to which they are a party, including in filing or litigating suits and in the submission of any requests or memoranda to the Committee or the Appeal Committee.

3) Regulating the procedures for submitting incidental petitions, including the right of parties to submit directly to the Committee incidental petitions which are related to the original claim.

4) Regulating certification of a class-action suit directly by the committee if a number of existing disputes are identical in terms of the legal bases, alleged facts, and the subject matter of the requests.

CMA's board resolution included that the provisions of the amended regulation shall apply to suits that have not been resolved by a final decision and to proceedings not carried out prior to its entry into force, excluding articles amending time limits with respect to the time limits that started prior to the amended regulation's entry into force.

This comes after CMA published the draft amendments to the resolution of securities disputes proceedings regulation on the unified electronic platform for consulting the public and government entities (public consultation platform) affiliated to the National Competitiveness Center and CMA's website for public consultation for a period of 30 calendar days.