Kuwait Issues a New Judicial Organization Law under Decree-Law No. 80 of 2026

The Council of Ministers has issued Decree-Law No. 80 of 2026 promulgating a new Judicial Organization Law, published in Supplement 2 to Kuwait Al-Youm Issue 1805 dated 26 August 2026. The law took effect on publication and repeals Decree-Law No. 23 of 1990, which had governed the organization of the Kuwaiti courts for more than three decades. It follows the Cabinet approval of the judicial reform package reported earlier this month.

The law keeps the familiar four levels of courts: the Court of Cassation, the Court of Appeal, the Court of First Instance and the district courts, with a district court to be opened in every governorate by decision of the Minister of Justice. Cassation appeals are decided by five-judge panels, and an eleven-member panel chaired by the court's president will now settle any conflict between precedents so that legal principles remain consistent. The law also creates a new Cassation Prosecution, a specialised body that gives an independent legal opinion on cassation appeals.

Several changes will be felt in daily practice. Courts may hold hearings and take witness evidence remotely by electronic means under rules to be issued by the Minister of Justice. Cases in which the government or a public body is a party will be heard by dedicated chambers of the Court of First Instance. Judges must hold Kuwaiti nationality by origin, and the judiciary and the Public Prosecution are to be fully staffed by Kuwaitis within five years, with serving non-Kuwaiti judges continuing until their secondments end within that ceiling. Senior judicial posts, including the Public Prosecutor, are now held for four-year terms renewable once.

WEFAQ's view: the new law is the broadest reorganization of the Kuwaiti courts since 1990. Its practical effect on pending and future disputes will depend on the implementing decisions expected from the Supreme Judicial Council and the Ministry of Justice, which deserve close attention over the coming months.

Read more: for the full analysis, read our companion blog article: 'Kuwait's New Judicial Organization Law: What Businesses and Litigants Should Expect'.