Al-Azeb’s statement on ‘travel ban’ tied to judicial fees, financial fines
‘3 conditions govern taking precautionary measures’
KUWAIT CITY, July 2: Minister of Justice and State Minister for National Assembly Affairs Dr Faleh Al-Azeb’s statement concerning suspension of the decision to impose travel ban over financial cases for amounts less than KD 100, is related to judicial fees, financial fines and government dues. It does not involve judicial rulings which follow a different mechanism, reports Al-Rai daily quoting legal sources from Ministry of Justice.
They affirmed that the minister’s move to link transactions in the government quarters with payment of money owed to the state instead of imposing travel ban is a victory for the right guaranteed by the Kuwaiti Constitution concerning freedom of move-
ment and is aimed at reducing travel ban orders determined by the legislator in the narrowest scope possible.
Regarding the mechanism of applying for travel ban on those in debt, the sources explained that, “Some creditors, companies and individuals rush to apply for travel ban on their debtors over cases of very small amounts. The department in charge of execution of judicial rulings does not issue travel ban except after the creditors have in hand the payment order or payment invoice to force the debtor to pay”.
They stressed the fact that such kind of mechanism is different from the mechanism of the judiciary rulings, especially for travel ban related to criminal charges which the ministry cannot lift”.
The sources indicated that, “Travel ban is not execution means, instead, it is a precautionary and temporary measure that aims at countering a certain situation once all conditions are available”.
They affirmed that it is irrational for a Kuwaiti to leave the country and not return because he owes a debt of KD 100.
The sources explained, “According to articles 297 and 298 of procedural law, there are three conditions that govern taking temporary precautionary measures against a debtor. They are maturity of debt, the creditor should produce evidences to back the reason why the debtor is a flight risk, and proof that the debtor is about to settle the debt. All three conditions should be made available at once or else it is not permissible to issue a travel ban”.
They urged the need for balance between the constitutional text — freedom of movement, and legal text, which restricts issuance of travel ban order for abovementioned three conditions.”