Kuwait Court of Cassation principle number 2303

Exercise of the right of retention is subject to the established rule in transactions that the exercise of rights is constrained so as to preclude arbitrariness and abuse. Its effect. A person invoking his right to retain what is in his possession until he obtains his entitlement from his debtor may not exercise that right inconsistently with the requirements of good faith and integrity in dealings. A person who acquires possession of a thing through an unlawful act may not retain it until he recovers from its owner the expenses of preserving it during the period it remained with him. He must deliver it immediately to its owner and then seek recovery of those expenses from him. - The judgment’s ordering simultaneous performance of delivery and restitution between the parties on the basis that each may retain what is in his possession until he obtains his entitlement from the other, although possession of the thing delivered to him was acquired under a void contract contrary to public policy. A violation of the law. - 427 - Obligation