Details of Crafts and Handcrafts Law

The Official Gazette has published the Crafts and Handcrafts Law, which was approved by the Cabinet last August.

The 18-article law will come into force 120 days from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette. It repeals any provisions that conflict with it.

Under the law, an artisan refers to any natural or legal person who practices a craft or traditional industry. A craft license refers to the license that authorizes its holder to practice a specific craft or traditional industry for commercial purposes, or that authorizes its holder to primarily trade in handcrafted products.

The national register of artisans is defined as a database in which information related to artisans is recorded, including their classifications, crafts and traditional industries, activities, and other information specified in the executive regulations of the law.

The law affirms that its objective is to regulate, develop, and enhance the handicrafts and traditional industries sector in a manner that contributes to strengthening activities linked to the Kingdom’s inherited national cultural heritage, preserving and protecting it from extinction, and enhancing its competitiveness. This is in addition to enabling the provision of products and services capable of competing and being marketed locally and internationally.

The law stipulates that, for the purposes of its application, a craft or traditional industry refers to any activity that is primarily based on manual labor and aims at production whose designs, form, and artistic and decorative elements are derived from the inherited cultural heritage of the regions of the Kingdom, or at providing services related to handcrafted products. Such activities are divided into two categories: productive artistic or heritage crafts and traditional industries, and service-based crafts and traditional industries.

The law also provides that the Heritage Commission may, in accordance with regulations approved by the Cabinet and within the limits of its available financial allocations and resources, grant incentive rewards to artisans.

In addition, the law stipulates that the commission shall cooperate with relevant public and private sector entities to establish, supervise, and equip centers, villages, and complexes for artisans, enabling them to practice their crafts and traditional industries, receive training, market their services and products, and conduct studies and research to develop handicraft products. This is intended to qualify such centers, villages, and complexes to become attractive destinations.