Kuwait Court of Cassation principle number 2181

Procedures for instituting and serving an action. The court must observe them. The purpose thereof: regulating litigation and ensuring the right of defense. Filing the statement of claim with the registry is the procedure whereby the action is deemed instituted, producing all effects of a judicial claim. - Service of the statement of claim. Its independence from its filing with the registry. The purpose thereof. Informing the litigant and realizing the adversarial principle between litigants. Its nonfulfillment. Its effect. Nullity of the judgment. The implication thereof. The court must of its own motion monitor the validity of service upon the absent litigant, and it may impose sanctions upon the plaintiff to induce him to pursue his action and serve his opponent. - The court of second instance discovering that the defendant was not served. It must not stop at declaring nullity but must order that the action be remitted to the court of first instance for determination on its merits after legally valid service upon the litigant. The reason for this. Observance of the principle of litigation at two levels. Article 135 bis of the Code of Procedure, added by Law 36 of 2002.