Kuwait Court of Cassation principle number 4332

A co-owner in undivided ownership. The general rule is that the co-owner has the right to terminate the state of undivided ownership at any time, by agreement or through the courts. The exception. The existence of considerations calling for compulsory continuation of that undivided ownership pursuant to law or a legal disposition. Compulsory continuation of undivided ownership pursuant to a legal disposition for a period exceeding five years is impermissible. Article 830/1, Civil Code. - Partition becoming detrimental to the interests of the co-owners. Its consequence: the court may order the continuation of undivided ownership for a period it determines, unless there is an agreement prohibiting a request for partition, or until a date later than the agreed date. Article 830/2, Civil Code. - Determining whether immediate partition would harm the interests of the co-owners, or whether no such harm exists. A matter for the trial court. The condition therefor. Its inference must be reasonable and based on what is established in the case papers. Example. - A litigant’s insistence on continuing undivided ownership because partition would cause him serious harm, and his substantiation thereof with documents. The judgment nevertheless ordering termination of the state of undivided ownership on grounds that neither address this defence nor constitute a proper response to it. This vitiates the judgment and necessitates its cassation. - 853 - Ownership Ownership action and possession action: