Kuwait Court of Cassation principle number 38

Summary: - Maintenance of a poor child unable to earn—including a maid's wages—is incumbent upon the child's father who has sufficient means. Articles 198 and 202 of Law No. 51 of 1984 concerning Personal Status. - Wages are in consideration of work. This means that the obligation to pay the maid's wages commences on the date of her arrival in the country. The challenged judgment's departure from this and its award of the maid's wages from the date of filing the action require its partial cassation. Rule: It is established in this Court's jurisprudence that the import of Articles 198 and 202 of Law No. 51 of 1984 concerning Personal Status is that maintenance of a poor child unable to earn, including a maid's wages, is incumbent upon the child's father who has sufficient means, in proportion to the child's needs and the father's means. Wages are in consideration of work, meaning that the obligation to pay the maid's wages commences on the date of her arrival in the country. Since the challenged judgment departed from this view by ordering the appellant to pay those wages from the date of filing the action, it is defective in a manner requiring its partial cassation in this respect.