Posted: November 19th, 2022

Comparison between the Kuwaiti Constitutional Court

Comparison between the Kuwaiti Constitutional Court and the US Supreme Court

Comparison between the Kuwaiti Constitutional Court and the US Supreme Court
Introduction
The Kuwaiti Constitutional Court is the highest court in Kuwait, and the US Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. Therefore, the rulings made by these courts are final in the respective Countries. This essay compares the Kuwaiti Constitutional Court and the US Supreme Court; the comparison is based under various issues such as the appointment of justices, structure and composition, roles of these courts and process of filing petitions in these courts, and how the ruling is made.
Appointment of justices
In the United States, the judges pass through two steps to serve as the Justices of the Supreme Court. First, the President of the United States nominates the justices. The names are then forwarded to the Senate House. Secondly, the Senate confirms the justices. On the other hand, for the Kuwaiti Constitutional Court, it is the role of the Judicial Council to vet and cast their votes through the secret ballot to choose the judges of the Court. Therefore, it is clear in both the Kuwaiti Constitutional Court and the US Supreme Court; the judges undergo nomination and vetting processes. The difference is the bodies responsible for performing the mandate. And if any of the judges vacate the office for whatever reasons, the process of appointment repeats itself; for Kuwaiti Constitutional Court, the Judicial Council appoints the replacement by casting votes. For the United States, the President would nominate, and the Senate confirms.
Structure and composition
The United States Supreme Court is composed of nine judges. The President of the Court who is among the nine justices is called the Chief Justice. On the other hand, the Kuwaiti Constitutional Court is composed of five justices, and there are also two reserve justices. These two justices are appointed by decree. In both the court there are other staff members such as the clerks and secretariats who help in support duties for the courts to perform their jurisdiction well. The similarity which is clear here is that the number of justices in both cases are off odd number; nine (for the United States Supreme Court) and five (or seven if reserve justices are included) for the Kuwaiti Constitutional Court. The odd number is crucial because it ensures that there is no tie whenever the courts’ rulings are through the majority. Another similarity is that both the courts are headed by the President of the Court; thus the structure is similar. The significant difference seen in the composition is that the Kuwaiti Constitutional Court has reserve justices while the United States Supreme Court does not have such positions.
Roles and processes of filing petitions
The two courts play various roles. The major role involves interpreting the Law or the Constitution of their respective countries. Therefore, the major role of served by these two courts is similar. There are steps followed for a case or a petition to be filed in these courts. For the United States Supreme Court, the petition can be filed in two ways; directly and through courts of appeals. The two instances where the US Supreme Court can take the case directly are if the petition involves foreign dignitaries, and in a case where the states are involved. The cases that reach the Supreme Court must pass through a bench of four justices in what is called “certiorari” to receive the writ failure of which the ruling of appeal court remains final. The Kuwait Constitutional Court can receive the plea from an unsatisfied party from the Court at the plea of the National Assemble a month after the verdict. And with the new article in place, the Court can also receive pleas from ordinary or judicial persons. Therefore, in both courts procedure for presenting the filling cases is the same in that the cases in most cases must come from lower courts. The similarity again is that there is the second method a case can reach the courts directly. The difference is that for the United States this is only possible if the states are involved or foreign dignitaries are involved in the case, but for the Kuwait Constitutional, the new articles allow a presentation of a plea by an individual.
Court Ruling
The major similarity in the ruling is that both the Kuwait Constitutional Court and US Supreme Court can make ruling through two ways. First, ruling unanimously. In this first method, all the justices are in agreement on the verdict the court is giving. In this case, the justices will detail the verdict in one document. Secondly, there is ruling by the majority. In this case, the decision of the courts is based on the opinions of the majority. Therefore, in writing the verdict, the courts must compile the concurring opinions as per the way the decisions of the courts were by the majority. Alongside, the dissenting opinions must be documented to show how many justices dissented and the reasons for which they dissented.
Conclusion
There are similarities and differences between the Kuwait Constitutional Court and the US Supreme Court. The comparisons are founded on the appointment of justices, composition, roles, petitions, and methods of ruling.