Justice Minister to 'Al-Siyasa': Directives from the Prime Minister's Highness to Establish Judicial Circuits to Resolve Private Housing Contract Disputes
Justice Minister reveals directives to establish specialized judicial circuits and protect the rights of those affected by construction delays.
Translated by Qiyas from السياسة — Original source
2,200 cases heard by courts in 2025
Protecting the rights of citizens harmed by construction delays
Expert engineering and accounting unit to investigate expert assignments in disputes
We are working on drafting legislation to handle these cases efficiently
Justice Minister Advisor Nasser Al-Sumait announced a "move to draft a law regulating the establishment of specialized judicial circuits to adjudicate contractor disputes related to private housing, pursuant to direct instructions from His Highness Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, with the aim of accelerating case resolutions and protecting the rights of citizens harmed by stalled construction projects or contractors' failure to fulfill their contractual obligations."
Al-Sumait emphasized, in a special statement to "Al-Siyasah," that the number of disputes related to private housing contractors reached approximately 2,200 cases during 2025, noting that the Ministry of Justice is currently preparing the necessary legislation to regulate this system, enabling more specialized and efficient handling of this type of case. He clarified that the initiative includes "assigning judges to hear private housing contractor disputes, which contributes to speeding up litigation procedures and resolving disputes within shorter timeframes," especially since these cases are directly linked to citizens, their families' stability, and their financial commitments.
The Justice Minister added that the project also includes establishing a specialized unit within the General Administration of Experts, assigning accounting and engineering experts to investigate expert assignments related to this type of dispute, ensuring faster completion of expert work with a higher degree of specialization and accuracy, and helping to complete the necessary procedures for resolving cases.
He indicated that the Ministry of Justice is working on establishing the regulatory legal framework for these procedures, including the creation of specialized judicial circuits and a mechanism for utilizing necessary technical and accounting expertise to investigate disputes, paving the way for developing the process of handling residential construction cases and accelerating their resolution.
This step comes amid complaints regarding the halt of some residential construction projects or contractors' failure to fulfill their contractual obligations after receiving financial installments from plot owners, prompting affected parties to resort to courts to claim the recovery of their funds or compensation for damages incurred.
Drafting the legislation represents a step toward developing mechanisms for handling residential construction disputes, supporting the protection of citizens' rights, helping to vindicate the aggrieved, safeguarding the rights of contracting parties, and mitigating the financial and housing repercussions resulting from stalled residential construction projects.
