KUWAIT CITY, Dec 8: The Court of First Instance ordered the Ministry of Health to accept the resignation of an employee and overturned its decision to refuse to process it. This ruling is based on the arguments presented by Attorney Dr. Fadhil Al-Basman, the employee's lawyer. He proved that the administrative body exceeded the legal deadline and violated the regulations, thereby infringing upon the employee’s legal status and depriving him of his financial rights.

According to the case file, the employee, who has been working at the ministry since 2010, submitted his resignation on Feb 2, 2025. Article 74 of the Civil Service Law states that failure to process the resignation within 30 days means it is automatically accepted. Despite the deadline having passed on March 2, 2025, the entity refrained from making a decision. Instead, it issued a decision on May 26, 2025 to suspend the salary of the employee, citing the existence of an investigation committee formed on May 19, 2024 to oversee job performance evaluations for 2023. The court clarified in its ruling that the administrative body’s failure to make a decision—which it was legally obligated to make—is considered a negative decision contrary to the law, as long as the entity does not provide a valid reason for the suspension of the resignation acceptance, such as the existence of a disciplinary investigation or ongoing legal proceedings.

The court emphasized in its reasoning that the administration did not provide any documentation proving the existence of a legal impediment preventing the acceptance of the resignation, considering that the silence regarding deciding within the specified period is an implicit acceptance, as specified by the civil service regulations. Accordingly, the court nullified all negative decisions, especially the suspension of salary payment, and ordered the administrative body to pay the expenses and attorney’s fees.

Al-Basman argued that his client acquired a firm legal position by virtue of the court’s acceptance of his resignation, and that administrative abuse in obstructing an employee’s rights can neither be overlooked nor tolerated. This principle was upheld by the court in its ruling, which legal sources described as a significant step in strengthening judicial oversight of negative administrative decisions. Al-Basman asserted that this ruling reaffirms the Kuwaiti judiciary’s commitment to protect public employees from any administrative abuse or transgression, and it establishes the principle of implicit acceptance of resignation when an administrative body fails to exercise its powers within the legally prescribed time frame.

By Jaber Al-Hamoud Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff