Cabinet approves amendment to Article 830 of the Civil Code to protect real estate partners' rights

The Cabinet, in a meeting chaired by His Highness Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Prime Minister, approved a draft law decree amending Article 830 of the Civil Law issued by Law Decree No. 67 of 1980, by adding two new provisions to restrict its scope to residential property held in co-ownership, excluding other types of jointly owned assets.

In a statement following the meeting, the Cabinet said the amendment grants the court the authority to order the continuation of co-ownership for a specified period to protect a partner who has no other residence, and allows the remaining partners to acquire the share of the partition applicant at its fair market value, instead of selling the property at a public auction when physical division is not feasible. It added that the draft law decree seeks to balance the partner’s right to exit co-ownership and receive the fair value of their share, with the interest of the other partners in retaining their residential property and protecting the party who has no alternative housing.

It clarified that continued co-ownership is treated as a temporary exception subject to two conditions and can be terminated upon the removal of those conditions. It also permitted acquisition as an alternative to auction, under regulations that ensure the seriousness of the request, prevent prolongation of litigation, and preserve established legal positions by not affecting rulings already issued regarding the award of the auction.

The Cabinet referred the draft law decree to His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

The Cabinet also approved a draft law decree amending certain provisions of Law No. 10 of 2020 concerning Notarization, to simplify procedures, develop electronic integration among competent authorities, and enhance official records and documents, while preserving existing legal positions.

In its statement following the meeting, the Cabinet explained that the draft law decree aims to regulate and develop notarization procedures at the Notarization Department of the Ministry of Justice through two main tracks. The first is abolishing the authority of the government notary to notarize company documents and transferring it to the specialized unit at the Commercial Register within the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, while organizing coordination and record exchange between the two entities.

The second track involves notarizing personal status matters, including marriage, divorce of various types, reconciliation, and related pre-marital qualification and pre-divorce reconciliation attempts, while organizing remote electronic notarization.

It noted that the draft law decree seeks to protect family rights by mandating the notarization of marriage facts, divorce of various types, and reconciliation, linking them to pre-marital qualification and reconciliation attempts, and keeping pace with technology by establishing remote electronic notarization and linking judicial records. It clarified that the draft law decree mandates that a marriage contract cannot be notarized unless both parties have completed the pre-marital qualification program, with a decision by the Minister of Justice to determine the program’s curriculum, duration, completion requirements, and the implementing entity.

The Cabinet referred the draft law decree to His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.