KUWAIT CITY, Sept 1: “The law profession has to be taken seriously and practiced sincerely, as people’s lives are in the hands of all those who belong to every aspect of the justice system. If legal procedures are not followed through accurately to facilitate the legislator, there is great danger of injustice,” said defense lawyer, Faris Al-Amir.

After graduating from Kuwait University with a law degree in 1999, he began his career working as an intern for various lawyers before opening up his own law firm.
Al-Amir likens the legal profession and all its aspects — from police investigation to prosecution — to a surgeon who opens up a patient and fails to put back his organs in their correct place.

Knowledge
All lawyers should have a comprehensive knowledge of all aspects of the law and therefore, he/she cannot be specialized in one area over the other, according to Al-Amir. A lawyer should have concrete knowledge in personal status law, the penal code, trade law, civil law and administrative law.
However, lawyers can take on more cases that belong to a certain branch of law as a personal interest or hobby.

“I take on all kinds of cases but I prefer penal code cases. I am fond of the defense and advocacy aspects of these cases and formulating and presenting arguments on behalf of my clients. It became a hobby, but I am aware of all aspects of the law,” he said.
Al-Amir says that the legal system of Kuwait is sound and relevant, but mistakes are still being made in the interpretation of the text of the articles.

Disrespect
“I am not discrediting the law for it is the legislation that makes the country and we cannot disrespect it as it is applied to everyone residing here. But there are misinterpretations of the law and these errors in interpretation and implementation could violate the constitution. In that case, the law is usually abolished or revised,” he commented.

Taking the new private sector labor law as an example, Al-Amir said that if a law goes through a revision, it is always revised to better serve all parties involved. If the law is made up of basic relevant and necessary principles that are of benefit to the community, it is not abolished but revised to meet the demands of age it is being enacted in.

“The new labor law has been revised to better protect the employees because it was discovered that sponsors and employers have been abusing their rights. So, the labor law has been revised to create the balance that was much needed between both parties,” said Al-Amir.

However, Al-Amir added, correctly enforcing and implementing the articles of the law is much more vital than the law itself. According to Al-Amir, the procedure law is the most fundamental legislation in this country as it governs the behavior of police officers, judges, defenders, lawyers and prosecutors.

Accused
The defense lawyer recalled a case revolving around the theft of a currency exchange company in the Farwaniya district. Three Iranian men were accused of attacking security officers of the company’s money transportation vehicle and stealing approximately KD 77,000.

One of the suspects was accused of carrying a small knife, using it to threaten the security officers. According to the victims’ statements, the suspects started running when they got the money bag and one of them was caught by the driver of the vehicle who chased them, which led to the arrests.
“All suspects were taken to the district’s police station, but the money bag was not in their possession and could not be located. The next day, the money was delivered to the police station by a Bengali street cleaner who found the bag behind a water cooler near a McDonald’s restaurant,” Al-Amir recalled.
He was defending the suspects and proved their innocence due to lack of evidence.
“The money was not in their possession. The evidence was not reasonable or logical that it seemed that the masterminds behind the operation could only be the security officers themselves with the help of the Bengali man.”

Furthermore, Al-Amir added, there was neglect on part of the investigators, who failed to acquire the fingerprints of the suspects from the vehicle or the knife used in the incident. The alleged victims were the ones who brought in the weapon.

Defense
There was also neglect on part of the arresting police officer who failed to document the security officer’s statements accurately and precisely.

This, said Al-Amir, benefited the defense because there wasn’t any concrete evidence that the Iranian men actually did commit the crime and may actually have been framed.
“Therefore failure in implementing the procedure law can lead of acquittals of guilty persons and injustice to innocents. The procedure law facilitates the course of the legal procedure, therefore it has to be respected by all parties and correctly implemented. It is irrelevant to just create laws without implementing them,” concluded Al-Amir.