An Amiri decree-law was issued amending Law No. 10 of 2020 to introduce electronic and remote documentation procedures for personal status matters, require premarital preparation programs, and establish new rules for documenting divorce and khula cases.
Under the decree-law, concerned parties or their representatives may appear before a notary in person, through an automated electronic system or via approved video communication and other electronic means. Judges, government notaries and authorized marriage officials may document personal status matters electronically and remotely within their respective jurisdictions, with detailed procedures to be specified in the executive regulations.
The decree-law also requires coordination between government notaries and employees of the Commercial Registry Unit at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to prevent duplicate authentication and documentation of the same instrument. This includes allowing access to relevant commercial registry data when documenting matters involving a company’s estate, a partner or partnership disputes, and enabling registry employees to consult relevant documentation records when authenticating company contracts.
It stipulates that marriage, separation between spouses in its various forms, reconciliation between divorced spouses and prohibited breastfeeding relationships must be documented in accordance with the law and its executive regulations. If documentation is not possible for any reason, the concerned parties must refer the matter to the judiciary. The Family Court’s registry department will also be electronically linked to the Documentation Department to notify it of final judicial rulings on these matters, which will then be automatically recorded.
The decree-law prohibits documenting a marriage contract unless both parties have completed a premarital preparation program. The minister will issue a decision specifying the program’s curriculum, duration, completion requirements and implementing body, while the executive regulations will determine exemptions. Judges, government notaries and authorized marriage officials must verify completion and record it in the relevant registers.
It further provides that, except for final judicial rulings and personal status cases in which reconciliation is not legally permissible, divorce and khula may not be documented until the parties have approached the competent Family Dispute Settlement Center and the legally prescribed settlement period has elapsed without reconciliation. Evidence of this process must accompany the documentation request.
Under the new provisions, any government notary or authorized marriage official who violates the premarital preparation requirement faces imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of up to KD 1,000, or either penalty, without prejudice to any harsher punishment stipulated by another law.
The decree-law preserves the validity and legal effect of company contracts documented before its entry into force, as well as companies established or whose contracts and articles of association were amended under the previous procedures.
The Ministry of Justice will continue receiving applications to document company contracts and amendments until the Commercial Registry Unit at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry begins operating. The ministers of Justice and Commerce and Industry will issue a decision specifying the date and mechanism for transferring the responsibility to the unit, ensuring continuity of service.
The decree-law repeals Paragraph 3 of Article 5 of Law No. 10 of 2020 and any provision that conflicts with its terms. The Prime Minister and competent ministers shall enforce this Decree and shall it be published in the official gazette. – Kuna
The post Amiri Decree-Law sets new rules for marriage, divorce documentation appeared first on Times Kuwait.