Legal system of Kuwait

Kuwait follows the "civil law system" modeled after the French legal system,^[1][2][3] Kuwait's legal system is largely secular.^[4][5][6][7] Sharia law governs only family law for Muslim residents,^[5][8] while non-Muslims in Kuwait have a secular family law. For the application of family law, there are three separate court sections: Sunni (Maliki), Shia, and non-Muslim. According to the United Nations, Kuwait's legal system is a mix of English common law, French civil law, Egyptian civil law and Islamic law.^[9]

The court system in Kuwait is secular.^[10][11] Unlike other Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Kuwait does not have Sharia courts.^[11] Sections of the civil court system administer family law.^[11] Kuwait has the most secular commercial law in the Gulf.^[12]

The state

Kuwait is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government. About 85% of Kuwait's population (2.8 million in 2013) are Muslims.^[13]

According to the United Nations, Kuwait's legal system is a mix of British common law, French civil law, Egyptian civil law and Islamic law.^[9]

Constitution and judges

Roughly half of Kuwait's judges are non-citizens—mainly Egyptians. The non-citizen judges are on one-year to three-year contracts. The Constitution of Kuwait makes Islam the state religion. The 1961 Press and Publications Law prohibits the publication of any material that incites persons to commit crimes, creates hatred, or spreads dissension.

See also

• Politics of Kuwait

References

1. "Kuwaiti Constitution". World Intellectual Property Organization. Archived from the original on 2014-08-12. The Kuwait Legal system is based on civil law jurisdiction; it is derived from Egyptian and French laws.
2. "Doing business in Kuwait". Practical Law. Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
3. "Doing Business in Kuwait: A tax and legal guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2017.
4. Eglin, Darrel R; Rudolph, James D (1985). "Kuwait". In Nyrop, Richard F. (ed.). Persian Gulf states: Country Studies. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 80 – via Hathai Trust.
5. Hopkins, Nicholas S.; Ibrahim, Saad Eddin, eds. (1997). Arab Society: Class, Gender, Power, and Development (3rd. ed.). Cairo, Egypt: American University of Cairo. p. 417. ISBN 9789774244049.
6. Induragi, Douglas. "The Legal System of Kuwait: An Evaluation Of Its Applicability". academia.edu. p. 4. Archived from the original on 6 August 2017.
7. Maddex, Robert L. (5 March 2014). Constitutions of the World. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. p. 153. ISBN 978-1-136-21789-0.
8. Liebesny, Herbert J. (1974). The Law of the Near and Middle East: Readings, Cases, and Materials. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-87395-256-9.
9. "State of Kuwait, Public Administration Country Profile" (PDF). United Nations. September 2004. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-10.
10. "State of Kuwait". London School of Economics. 21 March 2011. Archived from the original on 2014-11-01. The court system in Kuwait is secular and tries both civil and criminal cases.
11. Price, David (2009). The Development of Intellectual Property Regimes in the Arabian Gulf States: Infidels at the Gates. Abingdon, UK: Routledge-Cavendish. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-134-02496-4.
12. Hafeez, Zeeshan Javed. Islamic Commercial Law and Economic Development. San Fabcisco, California: Heliographica. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-933037-09-7.
13. "Background Note: Kuwait". U.S. State Department. February 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2009.