Kuwait’s 353 new laws

If you’ve noticed fewer speed camera fines, faster replies from court, or a court notice landing on Sahel (the government’s official app) instead of a knock on your door, there’s a reason. Kuwait has quietly rewritten a huge chunk of its legal system over the past two years, and the changes are starting to show up in everyday life.

The Ministry of Justice says the country issued 353 new laws in two years, part of a bigger plan to modernise around 983 existing laws in stages. The first phase, covering about a quarter of all legislation, is mostly done by the end of 2026.

This isn’t just paperwork. The numbers behind it, fewer traffic violations, faster case resolution, fewer domestic violence reports, are real and measurable. Here’s what actually changed and what it means for you.

What actually changed on the roads and in court

The new Traffic Law (Decree-Law No. 5 of 2025) is the one most people will have felt directly. Since it came into force, red-light violations dropped by 63% and speeding violations fell by 65%, according to the Justice Ministry.

Court procedures changed too. Amendments to civil and commercial procedure, combined with electronic court notices sent through Sahel, cut performance orders (a type of fast-track court order) by nearly 40%. That means fewer paper summons and quicker case handling for people with civil or commercial disputes in Kuwait.

If you’ve followed Kuwait’s move away from paper car insurance, this fits the same pattern: the government is pushing more of daily bureaucracy onto digital systems, and the traffic and court reforms are part of that same push.

Family law and domestic violence: fewer cases, tougher penalties

The Domestic Violence Protection Law, which has 31 articles and took effect in mid-March, led to a 33% drop in cases registered with the Public Prosecution in its first three months, falling from 486 to 328 cases.

Separately, Kuwait amended the Family Law and the Family Court Law to strengthen family stability and protect children from the fallout of marital disputes. As we reported on 10 November, the new Kuwait family law changes how custody and family court matters are handled.

Criminal law saw some of the biggest changes in this whole package. Lawmakers abolished the reduced punishment once given to men who killed wives, mothers, daughters or sisters after catching them in adultery, under what was Article 153 of the Penal Code. They also scrapped the mitigating excuse for mothers who killed newborn babies to avoid social shame (Article 159), and removed the exemption from punishment for kidnappers who married the women they had abducted (Article 182).

These three exemptions no longer exist in Kuwaiti law. They had long been criticised as loopholes that let serious crimes against women go lightly punished.

Drugs, bankruptcy and human rights: the rest of the package

The Anti-Narcotics Law (Decree-Law No. 159 of 2025), in effect since mid-December, contributed to a 49% decline in drug trafficking cases. At the same time, more people came forward seeking addiction treatment, which the ministry counts as a positive sign rather than a worry.

Kuwait’s courts have already handed down some of the toughest sentences under this tightened drug framework. As we reported on 19 October, a court gave the death sentence to an expat in a heroin trafficking case, and on 1 November, a court handed the death sentence to three people in separate drug cases. Today’s figures show the law behind those cases is also changing the overall numbers, not just individual sentences.

On the business side, amendments to the Real Estate Developer Law give companies more flexibility in the housing products they offer, and new executive regulations on taxing multinational companies aim to make the tax system fairer and more attractive to investors. New laws also cover economic courts, rental arrangements and owners’ associations, areas that affect anyone renting or living in a shared building in Kuwait.

Bankruptcy law changes create specialised court circuits, each made up of three Court of First Instance judges, to handle bankruptcy cases more consistently.

There’s also a proposed change to rename the National Human Rights Bureau as the National Human Rights Commission, give it a five-member full-time board, more independence from ministerial control, and its own separate budget.

What this means if you live in Kuwait

For drivers, the drop in red-light and speeding violations suggests enforcement is working, so don’t expect the cameras or fines to ease up. For anyone dealing with a civil or commercial dispute, the shift to electronic notices through Sahel should mean less waiting around for paperwork.

For families, the changes to the Family Law and Family Court Law, alongside the Domestic Violence Protection Law, point to a system trying to move faster on custody and protection matters. If you rent property or live in a building with an owners’ association, the new legislation in that area may eventually affect your lease or building management rules, though the details of how it applies day-to-day aren’t fully spelled out yet.

For businesses, the real estate and multinational tax changes are aimed at making Kuwait more competitive for investment, which the government links directly to the country’s improved ranking.

You can follow ongoing coverage of court cases, new rules and ministry announcements in our latest Local news from Kuwait.

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