Verdict on April 23 in fuel prices hike issue

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KUWAIT CITY, April 19: The Court of Appeals has adjourned to April 23 the issuance of its verdict on the appeal filed by the government against the verdict of a lower court which had canceled the government’s decision to increase the fuel prices, based on a case filed by Lawyer Ali Al-Ali. In the previous court sessions, Lawyer Al-Ali urged the court to reject the government’s appeal against the lower court’s verdict, insisting that the government’s decision was based on illegal procedures which led to the increase in fuel prices.

He stressed that the authority responsible for taking such decisions is the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) established through Decree No. 6/1980 which gave KPC the sole mandate over issues such as fuel price increases. The government defended its decision by stating that the ministerial decision No. 32/2016 is considered as recommendation and not administration decision. It insisted that the litigant misinterpreted the law, especially since the litigant described the ministerial recommendation as the decision based on which the prices of fuel were increased.

The government added that the litigant misinterpreted the law in terms of the money earned by KPC as taxes, clarifying that any financial returns that go to KPC is public money and not taxes. This came in response to the defense’s invocation of article No. 134 of the Kuwaiti Constitution which stipulates, “No general tax may be established, amended, or abolished except through a law”. In this case, the defense concluded that the decision of the government was not presented to the parliament to be supported by legislation, stressing the failure to adhere to article No. 4 of Law No. 6/1980 on the establishment of KPC and its mandates.

By Jaber Al-Hamoud Al-Seyassah Staff

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