Kuwait Court of Cassation principle number 126

Summary: - A purely clerical error in the ordering of the accused’s name among the accused in the case in the judgment’s preamble, contrary to the indictment. No effect. Condition: the court must be aware of the correct name of each accused, the charge against him, the evidence of guilt against him, and the basis of his defense. An example. Rule: A purely clerical error in the ordering of the accused’s name among the accused in the case in the judgment’s preamble—contrary to the indictment—does not affect its validity so long as its ruling discloses that the court was aware of the correct name of each accused in the case, the charge against him, the evidence of guilt against him, and the basis of his defense. Accordingly, what the challenged judgment recorded in its reasons and operative part clearly indicates that it was aware that the appellant was the first accused in the case before it—according to the indictment and the preamble of the appealed judgment—and that his name was ....................... and that he was the only juvenile among the other accused mentioned in the judgment, and that it did not confuse him with those accused. The challenged judgment also established that the court had taken cognizance of the pleas he raised, the basis of his defense, and his requests, and that his lawyer submitted an explanatory memorandum pleading the invalidity of his arrest, without confusing this with the defense or requests of the other accused. This indicates that what occurred in the challenged judgment’s preamble concerning the ordering of the accused persons’ names in the case was no more than a clerical error or slip of the pen, and did not result from an error by the court in understanding the case and comprehending its circumstances and the scope of the dispute therein. Accordingly, what the appellant raises concerning the foregoing is unfounded.