KUWAIT CITY, July 16: In a serious call for reform of the legal system related to the family, participants in a symposium organized by the Kuwaiti Society for the Prevention of Family Disintegration under the slogan, “Stable Families... Stable Society”, agreed on the necessity of amending Personal Status Law No. 51/1984, along with the related laws, such as the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence, Child Rights Law and Family Court Law. The participants pointed out that the reality has revealed legislative shortcomings, which threaten the stability of Kuwaiti families. Ibrahim Al-Kandari called for the total abolition of the current Personal Status Law, arguing that it is inconsistent with the customs and traditions of Kuwaiti society. He said that those who drafted the law derived the majority of its provisions -- around 70 percent -- from the Hanafi school, not the Maliki school, as some have claimed. He cited the imposition of a ‘breastfeeding fee’ as one example, which is applied only in the Hanafi school. He added, “The current law cannot achieve family stability, as it contains burdensome provisions for the husband and does not take into account the specificities of the Kuwaiti society. The provisions on visitation and custody of the divorced husband are incomplete because he is not allowed to spend time with his children at his residence.

The legislator did not address the issue of children spending the night with the father, and limited visitation to visitation centers without taking into account the geographical and social reality in Kuwait.” He stated that the Court of Cassation once ruled that visitation aims to connect the child to his family and maintain kinship ties, but the practical application undermined this goal. He also confirmed the issuance of court rulings that revoked the custody of mothers who refused to allow fathers to see their children. He talked about a loophole in determining the age of custody, indicating that “the law does not specify when custody ends. A girl’s custody ends with marriage and consummation, and a boy’s upon reaching puberty, without clarifying what happens after that. The result is that the father is exempted from alimony without having the right to reside with his children.”

Moreover, Attorney Hawra Al- Habib asserted that current laws suffer from legislative shortcomings that do not keep pace with societal changes. She said the vision in practical application is severely flawed, which negatively affected the children. She clarified that the Family Court Law lacks regulation of “children’s overnight stays,” leaving a legislative vacuum that has been filled through some court rulings. She added that both parties in divorce cases face two major shortcomings: the man’s right to see the children and the woman’s right to alimony, without clear controls or unified criteria for rulings. She presented an important proposal -- mandatory pre-divorce courses for spouses, which include explaining their rights and the legal and social consequences of divorce that may contribute to preventing disputes.

On the controversy surrounding the Child Protection Law, she stressed that the law does not encourage children to rebel against their parents, and that disciplinary beatings are not criminalized unless they reach the level of violence. Despite some shortcomings, she considers the law one of the best and most protective of children’s rights. She also disclosed that the Child Center of the Lawyers Association submitted recommendations to the Legislative Committee formed by the justice minister, including amendments to the Personal Status Law, Domestic Violence Law, and Child Law. She called for the issuance of effective executive regulations that ensure the implementation of the provisions, particularly the protection of the family and children. She confirmed that the right to visitation is the right of the child first, before being the right of the father or mother, and that restricting this right to a few hours in visitation centers undermines the child’s best interests. She attributed the impact of these practices to the increase of cases involving juveniles and psychological problems.

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