Kuwait Court of Cassation principle number 217

Summary: - The challenged judgment's failure to state in its preamble the description of the charge or the statutory provisions under which the Public Prosecution requested that the two accused be punished, merely setting out the phrases that the description and legal classification are to be copied from the indictment, together with its failure to state the legal provisions under which it convicted the appellants, would warrant its nullity. The first-instance judgment, which it upheld and whose reasons it adopted, stated at its outset the description of the charges against the appellants, listed the statutory provisions under which their punishment was sought and concluded in its text that the appellants should be punished. This is sufficient to state the description of the charges and the statutory provisions under which it convicted the appellants. Effect: the allegation of nullity is negated. Rule: Although the challenged judgment did not state in its preamble the description of the charge attributed by the Public Prosecution to the two accused or the statutory provisions under which it requested their punishment, but merely included the phrases, "The description is to be copied from the indictment; the legal classification is to be copied from the contents of the indictment," and did not state in the text of the judgment the legal provisions under which it convicted the appellants, which would warrant a ruling of nullity, the first-instance judgment stated at its outset the description of the charges attributed by the Public Prosecution to each appellant and listed the statutory provisions under which it requested their punishment. It then concluded in its text that the appellants should be punished pursuant to those provisions of the charge, after replacing Article 198 of the Penal Code with Article 195 thereof. Since the challenged judgment adopted the reasons of the first-instance judgment, referred to it and concluded by upholding it, this suffices to state the description of the charges of which it convicted the appellants and the statutory provisions under which it convicted them, and fulfils the requirement of the law in this respect. The allegation of nullity against the challenged judgment in this regard is thereby negated.