‘Night inspections legal; being disoriented no crime’

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KUWAIT CITY, March 9: The Court of Cassation has affirmed that officers can inspect houses during nighttime for confirming the occurrence of an alleged crime or if deemed necessary based on urgent circumstances, stressing that inspection is not limited to daytime, reports Al-Jarida daily.

In the verdict issued in a case of possession of weapons and ammunition filed against three suspects, and in response to the argument presented by one of the lawyers concerning the invalidity of the inspection that took place in his client’s residence at night for seizing weapons, the court highlighted Article 85 of the Code of Criminal Procedures and Trials, which states that inspection shall be conducted during day hours.

The court added, if the crime is known or if there is any urgency, inspection can be conducted at night. Meanwhile, the Criminal Court of Cassation has affirmed in a prominent judgment that inspecting persons in disoriented states does not give officers the authority to arrest or search them because any unnatural appearance or marks does not indicate the existence of a case of flagrante delicto that would allow the officers to arrest or search such persons.

The court stressed that appearance cannot confirm the existence of the crime of drug possession for personal use, and policemen cannot search persons without permission from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, or without strong evidence on the indictment of a felony.

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