Kuwait hikes appeal guarantee to 500 dinars for higher courts, 250 for lower courts

• The amendment permits direct appeals on jurisdiction rulings to the Court of Cassation, where they are reviewed in a consultative chamber, suspending referred court proceedings until resolved.

Decree-Law No. 6 of 2025 amended certain provisions of Decree-Law No. 38 of 1980 on Civil and Commercial Procedures, raising the appeal guarantee to 250 dinars for judgments from district or general courts and 500 dinars for those from the Court of Appeal, Al Rai newspaper reported.

The explanatory memorandum of the decree stated that the amendments aim to simplify litigation procedures and streamline certain provisions to facilitate litigants and ensure the swift resolution of disputes, achieving the principle of “accomplished justice.” These changes also reinforce the seriousness of litigation rights while reorganizing appeal procedures before the Court of Cassation, thereby reducing the number of cases eligible for appeal and alleviating the court’s workload.

To achieve these objectives, the amendment allows direct appeal of rulings on lack of jurisdiction and referral to the competent court under Article (128) of the Civil Procedure Code. As an exception, such rulings can now be appealed directly before the Court of Cassation, where they will be reviewed in a consultative chamber. In such cases, the referred court must suspend proceedings until the appeal is resolved.

The amendment also reorganized appeal procedures before the Court of Cassation to address new legal developments since the law’s enactment and to align with modern legislation suited to local conditions, ensuring quicker and more efficient dispute resolution.

Accordingly, the first paragraph of Article (152) of the Code of Civil Procedure was amended to specify the rulings eligible for appeal before the Court of Cassation. A financial threshold was introduced, requiring the disputed case’s value to exceed 30,000 dinars or be of undetermined value. This aims to reduce the number of low-value appeals and allow the Court of Cassation to focus on legal principles and unify judicial interpretations, thereby promoting prompt justice.

Article (153) of the Code of Civil Procedure was also revised. The second paragraph now permits appellants to submit appeal documents either to the Clerk’s Office of the Court of Cassation or to the court that issued the contested ruling, simplifying procedures for litigants.

Additionally, the fifth paragraph was replaced, eliminating the current system of merging first- and second-degree case files.

Appellants must now provide an official copy of both judgments and supporting documents submitted to the trial court. This ensures that the Court of Cassation remains focused on legal interpretation rather than factual review, preventing delays caused by waiting for case files or the risk of losing or damaging documents.

The first paragraph of Article (154) was amended to eliminate the requirement for attaching the case file in which the appealed judgment was issued, following the repeal of the file attachment system as outlined in the fifth paragraph of Article (153).

Additionally, the procedures for reviewing appeal disputes in the advisory chamber were modified, now requiring the Public Prosecution of Cassation to submit its opinion within sixty days to expedite the resolution of appeals. Practical experience has shown that awaiting the Public Prosecution’s opinion in all appeals places an excessive burden on the prosecution and causes unnecessary delays.

The court is also authorized to declare in the advisory chamber that an appeal is inadmissible if it contradicts an established judgment and if the ruling already contains sufficient reasoning to address the appeal’s arguments, thereby eliminating the need for further review.

Furthermore, a new provision was introduced in Article (155) of the Code of Civil Procedure, assigning the clerks’ department the responsibility of notifying the parties of the scheduled appeal hearing after the Public Prosecution submits its memorandum. This ensures that all parties are adequately prepared to present their defense during the appeal proceedings.