Article (37) of the Basic Law of the Governance stipulates: "Residences shall be inviolable, and they may not be entered or searched without their owner's permission except in cases set forth in the Law." Article (40) of the same Law stipulates: "All forms of correspondence, by telegraph and mail, telephone conversations, and other means of communication shall be protected. They may not be confiscated, delayed, viewed, or listened to except in the cases specified in the law".
Articles (41), (42), and (56) of the Law of Criminal Procedure emphasize that the privacy of persons, their dwellings, offices, and vehicles must be protected and that such privacy protects that person's body, clothes, property, and belongings. The privacy of a dwelling covers any fenced area or any other place enclosed within barriers or intended to be used as a dwelling. Criminal investigation officers may not enter or search any inhabited place except in the cases provided for in the law and pursuant to a search warrant specifying the reasons for the search, issued by the Public Prosecution. Mail, cables, telephone conversations and other means of communication must be inviolable and, as such, must not be perused or surveilled except pursuant to a reasoned order and for a specified period as provided for in the law. Article (9) of the Telecommunications Law affirms that the privacy and confidentiality of telephone calls and information transmitted or received through public telecommunications networks must be maintained and that they must not be viewed, listened to or recorded except in the cases set out in relevant laws. Article (37) of the same Law enlists actions that are deemed as violations of the provisions of the Law, including the interception of any telephone call or data carried on the public telecommunications networks in violation of the provisions of this Law and the intentional disclosure of any information or contents of any message, which has been intercepted in the course of its transmission. Article (38) of the same Law provides for imposing a fine not exceeding 25 million riyals on any person who commits, proceeds to commit, or assists another in committing such violation, without prejudice to any severer penalty stipulated in another law. Article (7) of the Postal Law provides for protection of the confidentiality of materials and packages sent by post and states that their contents must not be viewed or disclosed except in the cases specified by the Law. Article (17) of the same Law incriminates any violation of the provision of this Article and provides for imposing a financial penalty on any person violating this, without prejudice to the private and disciplinary liability.
