Kuwait, February 5, 2025 – In a significant triumph for constitutional legitimacy, Senior Partner, Nader Al Awadhi has successfully led a challenge before the Constitutional Court, securing a ruling of the unconstitutionality of Paragraph (1) of Article (34) of Law No. 72 of 2020 concerning the Protection of Competition. The court’s decision, issued today, declared the provision unconstitutional for imposing financial penalties of up to 10% of a concerned person’s total revenues from the preceding fiscal year for violations of Articles 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the law.

This landmark ruling stems from a constitutional challenge filed by Nader Al Awadhi on behalf of the Union of Cooperative Societies and 13 cooperative societies. Mr. Nader’s legal pleadings centred on the provision’s clear violations of fundamental constitutional principles, including personal liberty, judicial oversight of penalties, the right of due process and defence, and the proportionality between the penalty and the violation and the associated gain. Furthermore, the provision undermined the constitutional protections afforded to private ownership, turning financial sanctions into a punitive measure beyond the scope of regulatory enforcement.

Commenting on the court’s decision, Senior Partner, Nader Al Awadhi stated, “This ruling is a victory for constitutional justice and the rule of law. The court’s judgment affirms the importance of protecting due process and ensuring that penalties imposed by legislation align with fundamental constitutional principles. I am honoured to have represented the cooperative societies in this pivotal case, and I commend the Constitutional Court for its thorough deliberation and commitment to upholding justice.”

The ruling sets a crucial precedent in Kuwait’s legal landscape, significantly impacting the enforcement of competition law and the validity of financial penalties previously imposed under the now-invalidated provision. The implications of this decision on past and future regulatory actions will be closely examined in the coming weeks.

As the legal community reflects on this milestone, this victory underscores the essential role of constitutional advocacy in ensuring that legislative measures align with Kuwait’s foundational legal principles.