KUWAIT Law and Practice Contributed by: Sam Habbas, Luis Cunha, Hisham Al-Quraan and Mustafa Sayed, ASAR – Al Ruwayeh & Partners
1. Legal System 1.1 Legal System and Judicial Order Kuwait is a civil law jurisdiction, and the judiciary of Kuwait is structured in three levels: the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeals and the Court of Cassation. The structure of the judicial The Court of First Instance is made up of several circuits/divisions, each with its separate jurisdic - tion. These circuits/divisions include: • the Small Claims/Summary Court; • the Administrative Court; • the Civil and Commercial Government Court; • the Civil and Commercial Court; • the Labour Court; • the Court of Rent; • the Criminal Court; • the Court of Personal Matters; and • the Court of Minors’ Affairs. The Court of First Instance also has three impor - tant support divisions: • the Authentication Department, which authenticates signatures, etc; • the Experts Department, which reviews any technical and complicated matters that the court may refer to it, etc; and system is briefly as follows. The Court of First Instance • the Execution Department, which is tasked with executing the judgments of the court. The Court of Appeals The jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals is generally limited to the review of issues being appealed from the Court of First Instance, but it is empowered to make a de novo review of appealed cases as well. The Court of Appeals regularly conducts trials de novo. Judgments
rendered in the Court of Appeals are final, except for those appeals taken to and accepted by the Court of Cassation. The Court of Cassation The Court of Cassation may be viewed as the supreme court of Kuwait. It has final jurisdiction over matters relating to the proper application, interpretation and enforcement of Kuwaiti law, and rectifies procedural and substantive defects committed by the courts below it. The Court of Cassation is divided into commercial, civil and criminal divisions, and its judgments are typi - cally respected and followed, even though they are not legally binding on the lower courts (ie, Kuwait is a civil law jurisdiction without binding court precedents). 2. Restrictions on Foreign Investments 2.1 Approval of Foreign Investments Certain restrictions may apply, depending on the nature and extent of the foreign investment being made (including in relation to foreign own - ership limitations). As a general premise, but subject to certain limited exceptions, Article 23 of Law No 68 of 1980 (the “Commercial Code”) requires that foreign entities conducting business in Kuwait do so either through a local agent or through a Kuwaiti ”partner” (typically facilitated through the establishment of a Kuwaiti company with Kuwaiti or GCC participants owning at least 51% of the capital). Significantly, Article 24 of the Commercial Code was amended (under Law No 1 of 2024) to allow for the establishment of a Kuwaiti branch of a foreign business (an “Arti - cle 24 Branch”). Under these reforms, a foreign entity can, strictly speaking, operate in Kuwait
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