The court system in Kuwait essentially comprises of three levels,
for both criminal and civil jurisdictions except for minor offences
and small pecuniary claims which are dealt by the inferior courts.
The Court of First Instance ("Kulya Court") is the first court exercising
jurisdiction over a case. Judgements of the Court of First Instance
are subject to appeal before the Court of Appeals. Questions of
law as well as fact are considered by the Courts. A further appeal
lies to the Court of Cassation. This is the highest court in the
State where only questions of law may be considered. Judgments issued
by this Court are final and cannot be appealed. There is no concept
of precedent under Kuwaiti law, and decisions are rendered on the
merits of the cases. However, decisions of the Court of Cassation
being the apex court carry significant weight and influence over
the lower courts.
The significant aspect of the court procedures is that most cases
filed before the courts are referred to an Expert. The Expert is
chosen from a panel of Experts assigned by the Ministry of Justice.
The Experts Department in the Ministry of Justice forms the most
significant body affiliated to the Courts, especially the civil
and commercial circuits. The parties appear before the Expert and
produce evidence and witnesses for examination by the Expert. The
role of the Expert concludes with the submission of an Expert Report
to the court. The court is not inclined to accept the findings of
the Expert and the parties are given the opportunity to raise objections.
Upon reviewing the Expert Report, as well as the objections raised
by the parties if any, a judgment is issued by the court. The findings
of the Expert, though not binding upon the court, carry considerable
influence and one often finds that decisions are based upon the
conclusions drawn by the Expert.
Whether litigation is to be recommended or avoided would depend
upon the facts of a case. As in most countries, litigation is a
long drawn out process where weeks turn into months and months into
years. The costs involved are mainly lawyers fees and expenses.
Court fees are levied at 1% of the value of a claim in addition
to KD 150 for claims exceeding KD 10,000 (approximately US$ 30,000).
Claims for values less than KD 10,000 the fees are 2.5% of the claimed
amount. If the claimed amount cannot be ascertained at the time
of filing the case, or if the case is not of a pecuniary nature,
a flat fee is levied depending upon the nature of the claim.
