Kuwait Court of Appeal cancels travel ban over KD 2.4 million bank debt

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 27:  Kuwait’s Court of Appeal has canceled a travel ban imposed on a Kuwaiti citizen over a KD 2.4 million commercial debt owed to a bank, ruling that the order did not meet the legal requirements for continuing the restriction.

The case followed a judgment requiring the citizen to pay the KD 2.4 million debt, after which the bank obtained an order preventing her from traveling. She appealed the travel ban, arguing that the legal conditions required for such a precautionary measure had not been met.

Lawyer Muhammad Al-Dagher, who represented the appellant, argued before the court that Articles 297 and 298 of the Civil and Commercial Procedures Law require more than the existence of an outstanding debt for a travel ban to remain in force.

According to the defense, although the creditor's right must be established and the debt due for payment, the law also requires serious reasons giving rise to concerns that the debtor may flee, along with evidence regarding the debtor's ability to settle the debt.

The defense further argued that a travel ban is a temporary precautionary measure and is not automatically justified by the size of a debt. The continued existence of the debt, it argued, does not by itself justify maintaining a travel ban if the statutory conditions are no longer satisfied.

The Court of Appeal ultimately canceled the challenged ruling and annulled the travel ban order, despite the debt exceeding KD 2 million and totaling KD2.4 million.

The ruling establishes, in this case, that the amount of a debt alone is not sufficient to maintain a travel ban, where the other legal requirements for the precautionary measure have not been established.