Overview of the Legal System

The State of Kuwait follows the civil law system or what is commonly known as the Latin system. The historical origins of Kuwaiti Law are from the Egyptian and French codes. Article 2 of the Constitution provides that Islamic Sharia forms a major source of law. It is not however the exclusive source. Therefore, it is not essential for a law to be totally in conformity with Islamic Sharia in order for it to be constitutional. For example, there are provisions under the law of commerce which permit payment of interest in commercial transactions. The Kuwaiti legal system is of recent origin. It has benefited from the experiences of other legal systems in the world. In addition to incorporating provisions from the Egyptian legal system, Kuwait has also incorporated various international forms and standards into its legal system. For example Kuwait adopted the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (Vienna) as amended in 1974 for regulating letters of credit. Likewise, International Accounting Standards have also been adopted by Kuwait under a special enactment regulating the procedures to be followed by auditors and accounting firms in Kuwait.