Kuwait courts hear 197,000 criminal cases in first half of 2025

Judicial statistics released by the Ministry of Justice show Kuwait’s first-instance courts reviewed 197,340 criminal cases of various types during the first half of 2025, with traffic offenses leading the list.

According to the Statistics and Research Department, the Court of First Instance registered 197,340 cases, including felonies, misdemeanors, and misdemeanor appeals.

Out of these, 81,273 were adjudicated with court rulings. Traffic and municipal violations took the largest share of misdemeanor cases.

The data showed that misdemeanor cases made up the bulk of lawsuits, with 65,148 new cases recorded and 174,554 still pending.

Courts issued verdicts in 68,088 cases, achieving a completion rate of more than 39 percent.

Appealed misdemeanor cases during the same period totaled 10,375, with 18,843 pending, while 9,894 rulings were delivered—a completion rate exceeding 52 percent.

As for felony cases, 2,072 new criminal lawsuits were filed, with courts hearing 3,943 cases and issuing verdicts in 3,291 of them, reflecting a completion rate of nearly 84 percent.

Traffic cases dominated misdemeanor records with 76,425 new lawsuits, including 11,882 that were adjudicated. Passport-related misdemeanors reached 3,370 cases, of which 2,950 were resolved, marking an 87.5 percent completion rate.

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