Decree-Law No. 80 of 2026 on the Organisation of the Judiciary — Kuwait's new court-system law, replacing Decree-Law No. 23 of 1990

The decree-law has eleven issuing articles and attaches the new Law on the Organisation of the Judiciary (75 articles). Its preamble cites the Amiri Order of 10 May 2024; it was issued by the Amir, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice on 26 August 2026 (13 Rabi' al-Awwal 1448). Issuing Article 10 repeals Decree-Law No. 23 of 1990, the previous judiciary law.

COURTS. The courts are the Court of Cassation, the Court of Appeal, the Court of First Instance (al-Mahkama al-Kulliya) and the Summary Courts (Art. 3). Courts do not hear acts of sovereignty (Art. 2). Cassation benches sit as five judges. A chamber that wishes to depart from a principle settled by earlier Cassation judgments must refer the appeal to a new eleven-member Principles Unification Panel, chaired by the President of the Court of Cassation. The President may also convene the panel, of his own motion, when two judgments state conflicting principles (Art. 4). A Cassation Prosecution gives a legal opinion on every cassation appeal (Art. 6). The Court of Appeal sits in panels of three (Art. 7). The Court of First Instance sits as three judges save where the law provides for a single judge (Art. 8). Summary Courts sit in each governorate with a single judge, and the Minister of Justice may create criminal chambers for particular types of case (Art. 9).

HEARINGS. Hearings are public. Trials, the hearing of witnesses and other judicial steps may be held by electronic means, "without prejudice to the guarantees of a fair trial", under rules issued by the Minister of Justice after the opinion of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). Publicity is deemed satisfied when proceedings are held that way. A court may sit in private for public morals, public order, the sanctity of the family or private life, and judgment is pronounced in public (Art. 14). Arabic is the language of the courts; parties or witnesses who do not know Arabic are heard through an interpreter (Art. 15).

SUPREME JUDICIAL COUNCIL. The SJC is chaired by the President of the Court of Cassation. Its members are the Vice-President of the Court of Cassation, the President and Vice-President of the Court of Appeal, the Public Prosecutor, the President of the Court of First Instance and the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice (Art. 17). It acts, on the Minister's request, on the appointment, promotion, transfer and secondment of judges and prosecutors (Art. 18). It meets at least twice a month, and the Minister may attend without a vote (Art. 19).

WHO MAY BE A JUDGE. A judge must be Muslim; Kuwaiti by origin (bi-sifa asliyya); of full capacity, and never convicted by a court or disciplinary body for a matter touching honour or integrity, even if rehabilitated; of good conduct and reputation; and hold a law degree (Art. 20). The same conditions apply to members of the Public Prosecution (Art. 62). Issuing Article 5 requires the Minister, with the SJC, to "Kuwaitise" the judiciary and the Public Prosecution progressively within at most five years. Non-Kuwaiti judges and prosecutors, on secondment or personal contract, continue only to the end of their current term or permitted renewals, and never beyond those five years. Kuwaiti judges and prosecutors appointed before the law are exempt from the new religion and origin conditions (Issuing Article 6).

SENIOR APPOINTMENTS AND TENURE. The Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the Court of Cassation and the Court of Appeal and the President of the Court of First Instance are appointed by decree, on the Minister's proposal after the SJC's opinion, for four years renewable once (Art. 21; Issuing Article 3). The Public Prosecutor and assistant Public Prosecutors are appointed in the same way and for the same term (Art. 62). Judges and prosecutors, except deputy prosecutors of grade C, cannot be removed except through the disciplinary procedure in the law. Contracted judges' contracts cannot be ended without the SJC's approval (Art. 24).

CONDUCT. Judges may not receive decorations, engage in trade, or act as arbitrators without the SJC's approval (Arts. 26–27). The SJC issues a code of judicial conduct (Art. 26). Judges and prosecutors are prohibited from political activity and from expressing political opinions "in all forms"; from standing in public elections; and from publishing anything about their work on social media or elsewhere (Art. 28).

PROTECTION AND DISCIPLINE. Except in flagrante delicto, no investigative step, arrest or prosecution may be taken against a judge or prosecutor without the SJC's permission, on the Public Prosecutor's request (Art. 38). Discipline lies with a disciplinary board of Cassation and Appeal judges. The only sanctions are reprimand and dismissal (Art. 49), with an appeal to an administrative chamber of the Court of Cassation within sixty days (Art. 48).

THE MINISTER AND THE PROSECUTION. "Without prejudice to the constitutional guarantees", the Minister of Justice has the right to supervise the judiciary (Art. 36) and to oversee the Public Prosecution (Art. 65). The Public Prosecutor reports to the Minister, except in matters concerning criminal proceedings: their initiation, conduct, investigation, disposal and prosecution (Art. 61). The Public Prosecution supervises places of detention and prisons (Art. 57). Each October the SJC reports on gaps or ambiguities in legislation revealed by court judgments and by the Prosecution's decisions to close cases, for submission to the Council of Ministers (Art. 72).

USE IN A REPORT: this is now the governing statute for any description of how Kuwaiti courts are organised, who sits on them and what protects or limits their independence. Cite the article, not a summary. Where a report addresses fair-trial conditions or the weight to be given to a Kuwaiti judgment, the relevant provisions are Arts. 2, 14, 20–21, 24, 28, 36, 38, 61 and 65, and Issuing Articles 5–6. Where it relies on remote evidence from abroad, Art. 14 permits it only under ministerial rules; check whether those rules have been issued.

SOURCE: the Arabic text was read in full on lawskw.com (Kuwait Laws Portal), a private publisher of consolidated Kuwaiti legislation. The authoritative text is the Official Gazette (Kuwait Al-Youm); gazette numbers and dates above are as shown by the source.

The law pairs formal guarantees with executive involvement. The guarantees: irremovability, the SJC's consent before a judge is prosecuted, and the Public Prosecutor's independence in criminal proceedings. The executive involvement: ministerial supervision, and appointment of the senior posts by decree on the Minister's proposal. A report should describe both rather than characterise the system in one word. The Muslim and Kuwaiti-by-origin conditions, together with the five-year Kuwaitisation deadline, will change who sits on Kuwaiti benches, which have long included seconded Arab judges; the effect is prospective. English versions are available commercially (Lexis Middle East listed an English text on 21 September 2026); quotations for a court should be taken from the Arabic.