Al-Jaafari Status law in Kuwait No. 124 of 2019 : The extent of its impact and importance

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1. What are the pillars of marriage and dowry in the Al-Jaafari Status law:

Under Law No. 124 of 2019 in Kuwait, the concept of dowry comes as an essential part of the marriage contract, where it is also called “dowry.” The dowry represents the money or value to which a woman is entitled, whether this value is specified in the marriage contract or is determined after marriage or due to intercourse or anything related to it. The spouses have the right to determine the value of the dowry according to their agreement, whether its value is small or large, without setting limits based on finances.

One of the controls imposed on the dowry and its aspects is that it must be fully owned and specified, whether that is external property such as land or money, or a specific benefit such as teaching the wife a specific craft or a portion of the Qur’an. The wife is considered the owner of the dowry once the contract is concluded. Her ownership increases to half of the dowry after consummation, and her ownership continues even in the event of divorce before consummation.

It is stressed that the dowry may not conflict with Islamic law, as it is forbidden to make the dowry one of the forbidden things of Sharia law, such as alcohol, pork, or money derived from usury, and so on. In the case of a full imam in the term without specifying a specific time or season, the term is invalidated and the dowry becomes immediate.

Article (33) allows the wife to refrain from surrendering herself to the husband until she receives her immediate dowry, and Article (34) stipulates that if the marriage is entered into by the wife’s choice and consent without receiving the immediate dowry, she cannot abstain on her own after that. It is also permissible to postpone the dowry to the nearest of the two terms, either due to divorce or the death of one of them, and Article (39) obligates the husband to hand over the dowry, as it remains guaranteed.

2. What are the types of divorce and its conditions in the Al-Jaafari Status law:

In Jaafari Law No. 124 of 2019 in Kuwait, types of divorce are classified into three main sections: irrevocable and revocable divorce, khula divorce, and matching divorce.

An irrevocable divorce is one that leads to a woman’s separation from her husband’s ‘Isma, and she cannot return to him, while a revocable divorce allows a woman to remain in her husband’s Isma, and she has the right to return to him during the waiting period.

The elements of divorce consist of formula, absolute, divorced, and witness. Regarding the form, it must be pronounced as the active participle derived from the word divorce, and it must be in Arabic. It is stipulated that the formula must be fulfilled and not conditional on anything. The husband can appoint someone else to divorce his wife.

In general, four things are considered: the person must be an adult, disabled, choose, and intend to divorce. The father is allowed to divorce the wife of his insane son, but it is not valid if she is another divorced woman. Coercion is considered a factor that invalidates the validity of a divorce.

A divorced woman is considered to have to meet three conditions: a determination to be performed, that the wife be pure from menstruation and postpartum, and that she be chosen and not coerced. Testimony is required as a basic condition for the validity of the divorce, and the two witnesses must be fair.

Regarding the return, this process is considered the return of the divorced woman to her ex-husband during the waiting period, with the possibility of enforcing it by proxy. Revocation of divorce is proven by the husband’s claim during the waiting period, and proof is required if the allegation of revocation is after the end of the waiting period.

3. What are custody rights in the Al-Jaafari Status law :

In a chapter dedicated to the issue of custody in the Al-Jaafari Status law in Kuwait, Article (243) specifies the mother’s right to custody of her child, whether male or female, up to seven years, then the right of custody is transferred to the father until legal maturity.

Article (244) stipulates that the custodian spends the night with the child he is in custody, and Article (245) confirms that the right of custody belongs to the mother and father, and if they refuse, they are forced to implement it. Each parent is allowed to relinquish the right of custody to the other, but the father is not allowed to retract his relinquishment. Unless this is not included in a necessary contract, in accordance with Article (246), and Article (247) also stipulates that the mother’s right to custody does not lapse unless she marries someone other than the father during the period of custody, as the right to custody in this case returns to the father, and Custody ends when the child reaches Rashida, and the newborn is considered Rashidah if he reaches fifteen lunar years of age or has a wet dream before that, according to Article (248). However, in the event of the father’s death after custody is transferred to him, the mother has priority in custody, whether married or not, according to Article (250). Whoever has the right to custody is required to be Muslim, sane, and capable of ensuring the child’s health and morals. It is permissible to entrust the right to others with confidence in their ability to perform custody appropriately, in accordance with Article 252.

4. Obstacles to inheritance:

In Law No. 124 of 2019 in Kuwait, Article (380) stipulates the impediments to inheritance, which include disbelief in all its forms, intentional unjust killing, being born from adultery, and cursing.

Regarding inheritance between a Muslim and a non-Muslim, Article (381) clarifies that a Muslim inherits from a non-Muslim, and Muslims inherit between them even if they differ in sects, and a non-Muslim is not prevented from inheriting from Muslims.

Article (382) defines a Muslim and a non-Muslim, as a non-Muslim is defined as someone who denies one of the three principles of Islam. In the inheritance chapter of the Jaafari Status Law in Kuwait, inheritance is defined in Article (383) as the inheritor’s estate, and includes everything he owned before his death, including assets, debts, and benefits. Article (384) specifies the matters that come out of the estate before it is divided, such as equipment, debts, legal rights, and the will. Article (385) refers to the reasons for inheritance, and is divided into two types: lineage and cause, where lineage depends on the dead person’s connection to the heirs through birth or marriage, while the reason depends In contact due to marriage.

In the chapter on inheritance impediments from the Al-Jaafari Status law in Kuwait No. 124 of 2019, Article (386) defines the infidel impediment by its types, and specifies the conditions for an apostate’s inheritance, while Articles (392) and (393) deal with murder and manslaughter, and Article (396) deals with With birth from adultery, it confirms that inheritance is not possible if the parents commit adultery, and Article (400) specifies that there is no inheritance between fornicating spouses.

These are some of the highlights of the Jaafari Personal Status Law in Kuwait.

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