Explanation of Article 8
Articles (8-11) address one of the characteristics of a natural person's personality, which is: "domicile." The system has determined in these articles several types of domicile for a natural person, which are the habitual domicile, business domicile, domicile of the incapacitated, the missing, and the absentee, the legal domicile, and the chosen domicile.
It is noted that in some systems, the term domicile may be used to mean homeland, which is outside the provisions of this system and is subject to its own regulations.
This article addresses the first type of domicile, which is the habitual domicile, considered the default for a natural person's domicile; hence, this domicile is called the "general domicile." The article stipulates two conditions for a place to be considered a habitual (general) domicile, which are:
-
The first condition: residing in it; mere presence and habitation are not sufficient unless the residence is stable. It is not necessary for this residence to be uninterrupted, but it should continue in a manner that fulfills the condition of habit, even if interspersed with periods of absence, whether close or distant. For example, if a person habitually spends the summer in a specific place, it is considered a domicile for them. However, if they habitually spend the summer in a different place each year, their residence in these places is not considered stable and does not make them a domicile.
The location of a person's job does not affect the determination of their domicile except to the extent that it fulfills the description of residence. For example, if a person resides in Riyadh and works in Al-Kharj and commutes there, Al-Kharj is not considered a domicile for them under the application of this system.
-
The second condition is the intention to settle in the place, and this intention can be inferred from the person's circumstances.
Based on this, a person may have more than one domicile if the previous two conditions are met, such as someone who has domiciles in two cities and resides in both habitually; each city would be considered a domicile for them, and the provisions of domicile apply to either.
If a person does not have a habitual residence, like nomadic Bedouins, the end of the article states that their place of presence is considered their domicile. If their place of presence is unknown, their domicile is the last known place they were found. This does not apply to someone who travels frequently, as they have a domicile as long as they have a place to return to and usually reside in.
Thus, it is clear that the system adopts the theory of actual domicile, which allows a person to have more than one domicile, contrary to the theory of legal domicile, which only allows for one domicile.
Related To
Article 8
A person’s domicile shall refer to his place of habitual residence. A person may have more than one domicile at the same time. In the absence of a habitual residence, the place where the person is currently located shall be deemed his domicile; if the person’s current place is unknown, the last known place where he was located shall be deemed his domicile.