Foreign Office: Political Agency, Court for Kuwait: Case papers, reports and registers

FO 955

1949-1964

This series contains court records of the British Political Agency in Kuwait. They comprise case papers of civil and criminal cases and appeals; inquests; registers of court files, of cases and of estate cases and court report Books.

The records in this series show judgement on matters such as infringement of drink laws, forgery of consular officers' signatures, brawling, bribery and minor corruption. Most of the cases affect foreign nationals.

Records from the earlier period have not survived.

Public Record(s)

English

538 files and volumes

Topics

International

Food and drink

Nationality

Crime

Middle East

The Kuwait Agency Courts were established under a Kuwait Order in Council of 1925 which conferred on the Political Agent legal authority in Kuwait over British subjects and protected persons, the subjects and protected persons of non-Muslim foreign governments who had consented to the exercise of such jurisdiction and certain of their employees. Under the Order, the Political Agent became responsible for the District Court in Kuwait and exercised his powers subject to the Political Resident, who administered justice in the Persian Gulf area.

In 1935, a new Order, embodying a number of amendments, came into force and remained in force until 1949, when a third Order became necessary following the transfer of power in India.

British Jurisdiction ran alongside, but was completely separate from the National Jurisdiction of Islamic law. Cases in which the parties did not belong to the same jurisdiction were determined before the court of the defendant, not the plaintiff: the courts could not entertain claims against a person not subject to its authority.

With the development of the Kuwaiti oil industry in the 1950's the consequent influx of non-Arab foreigners brought an increase in the activities of the British Jurisdiction. Economic growth, however, also accelerated the demand for legal reform which resulted in the withdrawal of British Jurisdiction under the Kuwait (Repealing) Order, 1st July 1961.