Kuwait Issues a 108-Article Arbitration Law to Speed Dispute Resolution and Boost Investor Confidence
Kuwait issued a new Arbitration Law by Decree-Law No. 120 of 2026 on 13 October, setting up a national framework to speed up the resolution of disputes, protect public funds, regulate arbitration institutions and boost investor confidence, the Kuwait News Agency reported. The law has 108 articles in 15 chapters, and its explanatory memorandum said Kuwait’s plans to become an attractive financial and commercial hub required a modern arbitration environment that inspires confidence among businesses and investors.
State contracts and arbitration centres
The law sets safeguards for arbitration in contracts concluded by state entities to protect public funds, without excluding those entities from arbitration, through a graduated framework meant to balance investment promotion with the protection of public money. It introduces a system of interim and precautionary measures and places the licensing and oversight of arbitration centres under a specialised department at the Ministry of Justice, which will keep registers of arbitrators and arbitration centres. Judicial arbitration, previously governed by separate legislation, is brought into the same law.
The law also allows modern technology throughout arbitration proceedings and distinguishes between ad hoc arbitration, organised by the parties themselves, and institutional arbitration run by centres under their own rules.
Scope, procedure and penalties
The law applies to arbitration seated in Kuwait, and to arbitration abroad where the parties agree to apply it, subject to Kuwait’s international agreements and mandatory legal rules. Its procedural chapter lets the parties choose their procedures, including by referring to the rules of arbitration centres inside or outside Kuwait. A penalties chapter protects the arbitration system, public confidence in it and the confidentiality of proceedings, while arbitrators face civil liability only for fraud or gross negligence, a choice the memorandum said avoids weakening a country’s standing as an arbitration seat.
Kuwait’s Arbitration Law at a glance
| Part | Articles | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Whole law | 1 to 108 | 15 chapters |
| Chapter 4 | 22 to 40 | Arbitration procedure |
| Chapter 14 | 100 to 105 | Penalties |
| Chapter 15 | 106 to 108 | Final provisions, the Ministry of Justice department and the registers |
From the Kuwait News Agency’s account of the law’s explanatory memorandum.
Why it matters: The law gives Kuwait a standalone arbitration framework of the kind that, the memorandum notes, has drawn major disputes and related legal and financial services to other countries’ arbitration centres, supporting the country’s aim of becoming a financial and commercial hub, on our reading.
Outlook: The decree-law is next due to appear in the official gazette, Kuwait Al-Youm, and the Minister of Justice is to issue a decision setting the rules, conditions and fees for registering arbitrators and arbitration centres, the steps that put the framework into operation.
Sources: Kuwait News Agency, The Edge.
