KUWAIT Law and Practice Contributed by: Dr Fawaz Alkhateeb, Taher Group Law Firm Co
ing court orders pertaining to the litigation’s process. • Injunctions – used to ask the court to make orders restraining conduct, or to require a party to take certain actions before the con- clusion of a case proceeding. • Preservation orders – used to secure assets or evidence during the litigation. • Security for costs – used to ask for security for costs. • Temporary orders – used to request the court to issue a temporary order regarding a substantive matter, that will be valid until the conclusion of the case. 4.2 Early Judgment Applications In Kuwait, a party can request early judgment on some or all issues in dispute or seek to strike out the opposing party’s case before trial. • Early judgment (summary judgment) – the process involves a motion, response, and court assessment to determine if there are no genuine factual disputes, and the law clearly favours one party. If so, summary judgment may be granted. • Striking out the other party’s case – involves a motion to strike out the case, the response, and court evaluation. The court may strike a case if valid grounds are found, such as a frivolous or meritless case. These determinations depend on factors like the presence of factual disputes, the clarity of the law, and proper notification procedures as per procedural law. 4.3 Dispositive Motions In Kuwait, dispositive motions are pre-trial appli- cations used to resolve cases or specific issues. The court evaluates their merits and may grant
or refuse them. Common dispositive motions include: • summary judgment – seeks a decision on key issues without a trial when there are no factual disputes; • motion to dismiss – aims to dismiss the case or claims for reasons like lack of jurisdiction or procedural errors; • motion for judgment on the pleadings – seeks a decision based on written pleadings with no disputed facts; • motion to strike – requests removal of irrel- evant or improper allegations; • motion to dismiss counterclaims or cross- claims – seeks dismissal of opposing party’s claims; and • motion for default judgment – requests a plaintiff’s judgment based on the defendant’s default. 4.4 Requirements for Interested Parties to Join a Lawsuit In Kuwait’s jurisdiction, mechanisms for involv- ing third parties in ongoing proceedings or con- solidating two sets of proceedings are governed by Law No 38 of 1980 pertaining to Civil and Commercial Procedures. Articles 84 to 88 detail the mechanisms by which third parties may par- ticipate in ongoing litigation. Article 38 defines “Incidental requests” as motions directed by the plaintiff to the defend- ant, or vice versa, as well as claims made by a third party to either party. This is regarded as an intervention. The court has the discretion to permit the involvement of a third party in the proceedings as per the provisions in Article 86. Moreover, any person with a vested interest may intervene in the case, either supporting one of the litigants or requesting a judgment for them-
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