The Permanent Local Committee for Research Ethics

In accordance with the Royal Decree No. 7/B/9512 dated 18/05/1422 AH, a national committee named The National Committee for Bioethics and Medical Ethics was established under the supervision and administration of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST). In implementation of the Council of Ministers' Resolution No. 180 dated 09/06/1425 AH, and in line with the provisions of the Law of Research Ethics on Living Creatures and its executive regulations—which mandate that every research institution in the Kingdom conducting research on living creatures must establish a local research ethics committee and register it with the Research Ethics Oversight Office of the National Committee—King Saud University took the initiative to form the Permanent Local Committee for Research Ethics on Living Creatures.

This committee was registered with the National Committee for Bioethics on 10/10/1428 AH with registration number (R-01-H 002), which was later updated to (HAP-01-R-002).

On 25 Safar 1434 AH, University Council Decision No. (34/4/4) in its fourth session approved the internal regulations of the Permanent Local Committee and its subcommittees for the Ethics of Scientific Research on Living Creatures. These regulations define the relationship between the local committee and subcommittees across the university’s colleges, outlining the working mechanism to assist faculty members and researchers, and promote a culture of research ethics within the university.

Subsequently, the internal regulations of the Permanent Local Committee and its subcommittees were amended and approved by King Saud University Council Decision No. (40/1/7), leading to the establishment of a comprehensive research ethics system at the university consisting of the following committees:

• The Permanent Subcommittee for Human Research Ethics

• The Permanent Subcommittee for Animal and Plant Research Ethics

• The Permanent Subcommittee for Humanities and Social Research Ethics