Ex-MP absolved in libel lawsuit
Court rejects Kuwaiti teacher’s appeal
By Jaber Al-Hamoud
KUWAIT CITY, Feb 15: The Misdemeanor Court of Appeals refrained from pronouncing penalty against ex-MP Abdul-Rahman AlAnjeri in a lawsuit filed against him by the National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim. The court ordered the former MP to pay KD 500 bail bond and sign an undertaking to be of good moral behavior for one year.
The Misdemeanor Court of First Instance delivered the verdict in absentia, which was the first of its kind in electoral crime.
The court also ordered the former MP to pay temporary compensation of KD 5001 in favor of the plaintiff.
The case file indicated the defendant organized a seminar titled “The Point of Collapse” on Nov 23, 2016 and allegedly made certain utterances that demeaned and defamed the Speaker, which could have incited the electorate against him.
The seminar was enough to make the plaintiff become unpopular by losing electoral value among the constituents, and the action was adjudged a contravention of law number 3/2006 concerning publishing and publications.
He also violated criminal law as stipulated in law number 35/1962 concerning National Assembly elections and its amended provisions in law number 70/2003.
Appeal rejected:
In a first-ofits-kind case, the Court of Appeals has rejected to look into an appeal filed by a female Kuwaiti teacher in which she demanded the court to equate her with female expatriate teachers in terms of housing allowances.
The court ordered the referral of the case to the Constitutional Court to determine whether the decision by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) in this regard has constitutional backing in terms of limiting disbursement of housing allowance to only female expatriate teachers and excluding female Kuwaiti teachers who are married to nonKuwaitis.
Representing the Kuwaiti teacher was Lawyer Duaij Al-Jerri, who protested the CSC’s clause which allows granting housing allowance to female Kuwaiti teachers married to Kuwaitis and female expatriate teachers but excludes female Kuwaiti teachers married to non-Kuwaitis.
Lawyer Al-Jerri faulted clause No. 1 of CSC law No. 38/2016, explaining that his client has no real estate registered under her name or her husband’s name. She has not been provided accommodation by the government, and had not acquired housing loan previously from the Credit and Savings Bank (Kuwait Credit Bank).
He highlighted that CSC grants housing allowance to female expatriate teachers irrespective of their marital status, which the court needs to rectify by ending discrimination of female Kuwaiti teachers married
to non-Kuwaitis.
Decision nullified:
The Administrative Court has nullified the decision of the Ministry of Justice by ordering concerned officials to accept the documents of six excellent applicants to enable them participate in tests and personal interview for the Junior Legal Researcher position through which they can be qualified as prosecutors.
The court also ordered the ministry to pay each of the applicants KD 100 legal fee, and the verdict should be executed with immediate effect.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of the plaintiffs, Lawyer Mohammad AlAnsari prayed the court to nullify the negative decision of the ministry that rejected their applications, and associated implications. He maintained the act of rejecting his clients’ applications deprived them of the opportunity to sit for exam and interview that could have enabled them secure the job.