Kuwait: Support for Arab coordination mechanisms to develop methods of investigation and administrative and technical audit in the judicial establishment

A Kuwaiti judicial delegation, participating in the 30th Arab Conference of Heads of Judicial Inspection and Oversight Bodies held in the Sultanate of Oman, presented the State of Kuwait’s experience in automating judicial inspection and technical oversight amid the rapid digital transformation underway within the judicial system.

Khalid Bishir, First Counselor at the Court of Cassation and head of the delegation, told KUNA that the two-day conference, hosted in Salalah with the participation of judicial delegations from 14 Arab countries, focused on the importance of developing oversight and evaluation tools and leveraging modern technologies to enhance efficiency while safeguarding judicial independence.

He added that the conference aimed to build a shared vision for developing the judicial inspection system and exchanging expertise through working papers that generally addressed the transition from traditional oversight to preventive oversight, the evaluation of court performance, and the prospects for deploying smart technologies in legal research and data processing. The discussions also covered challenges related to algorithmic bias and the protection and confidentiality of judicial files.

Regarding the Kuwaiti working paper, Bishir said it was titled “The Digital Judicial Inspection System and the Application of Modern Performance Indicators to Ensure Prompt Justice.” The paper highlighted the judicial system in the State of Kuwait in the context of digital transformation, particularly the experience of judicial inspection in developing its supervisory and oversight tools to entrench standards of governance and transparency.

Bishir noted that the working paper aimed to establish unified Arab standard benchmarks for assessing judicial competence based on digital performance indicators. It also sought to support Arab coordination mechanisms for developing methods of investigation and administrative and technical auditing within the judicial apparatus.

In this regard, he pointed to the presentation of Kuwait’s experience in digital transformation and electronic inspection, following the adoption of scanning and converting all paper documents, records, affidavits, and judgments into organized, archived digital formats across all levels of the judiciary.

He explained that the Kuwaiti delegation demonstrated how this was achieved through the secure storage and archiving of case files in databases protected by access permissions limited to specific individuals involved in judicial work. This enabled judicial inspectors to review the full contents of the case files under inspection and contributed to the speed of completing judicial inspection reports.

Bishir stated that the working paper also addressed how digital transformation has enabled judicial inspectors to move from traditional evaluation to comprehensive evaluation based on precise information, through networked integration between courts and the inspection body.

He affirmed the legislative progress achieved in the State of Kuwait following the recent enactment of the Law Regulating the Judiciary, which organized judicial inspection and digital transformation by introducing new evaluation methods related to judges’ compliance with electronic litigation and trials, as well as the effective management of digital hearings.

Regarding the delegation’s key recommendations, he said it recommended the importance of unifying procedural inspection standards among Arab countries and developing digital reference guides for measuring judicial performance to meet shared aspirations for a modernized judiciary.

It also recommended that the Arab Award for Judicial Inspection Work be dedicated to electronic applications that have proven successful in judicial inspection.

Emphasizing the importance of participating in the conference, Bishir stated that it stems from a steadfast commitment to strengthening common Arab judicial cooperation and exchanging expertise and perspectives on developing judicial inspection bodies, which serve as a safety valve for ensuring the proper administration of justice, safeguarding judicial independence, and entrenching the rule of law.

The Kuwaiti judicial delegation comprised Khalid Bishir, First Counselor at the Court of Cassation; Raed Al-Daili, First Counselor at the Court of Appeal; and Khalid Al-Na’mani from the Judicial Inspection Affairs Department at the Ministry of Justice.