Kuwait Court of Cassation principle number 159

Summary: - The arbitral tribunal's award basing its dismissal of the appellant's original claim on the two appellants' breach of their contractual obligations after being satisfied with the expert's report and what it inferred from the case papers. Challenging that award on grounds other than those referred to in Article 10 of Law No. 11 of 1995 concerning judicial arbitration in civil and commercial matters. Its implication. The appeal is inadmissible. Rule: Whereas the plea raised by the Public Prosecution that the two appeals are inadmissible because their grounds are not among the cases stipulated in Article Ten of Law No. 11 of 1995 concerning judicial arbitration in civil and commercial matters is well-founded, since it is established in the case law of this Court that grounds relating to public policy may be raised by the Public Prosecution and may be determined by the Court of Cassation of its own motion, even if they were not previously invoked before the court of merits and in the appeal petition, provided that the ground concerns the challenged part of the judgment. The provision in Article 10 of Law No. 11 of 1995 concerning judicial arbitration in civil and commercial matters that "An award issued by the arbitral tribunal may be challenged by cassation in the following cases: (a) Contravention of the law and error in its application and interpretation. (b) If an invalidity occurs in the award or in the proceedings which affects the award. (c) If the arbitral tribunal rules contrary to a judgment previously issued between the same parties which has acquired the force of res judicata, whether issued by the ordinary courts or by an arbitral tribunal. (d) If one of the grounds permitting a petition for reconsideration is established. An award issued by the arbitral tribunal may not be challenged by any other means of appeal," indicates that the legislature laid down a general rule whereby an award issued by the judicial arbitral tribunal may not be challenged unless one of the stipulated cases for challenging it is established in respect thereof. That being so, the challenged award issued by the arbitral tribunal based its dismissal of the original claim of the appellant in the first appeal and the two incidental claims of the appellant in the second appeal and the second respondent therein on the two appellants' breach of their contractual obligations, after being satisfied with the expert's report and with what it inferred from the papers and documents in the case. As the two appellants based their appeals on three grounds containing criticism of the award in respect of what it was satisfied with and its identification of the party at fault, and did not base them on any of the grounds stipulated in the aforementioned Article which permit awards issued by the judicial arbitral tribunal to be challenged by cassation, the two appeals are therefore inadmissible.