""In the Gulf States today, Kuwait’s judiciary is the most
independent judiciary amongst the Gulf States despite a number of grievances.
For instance, Kuwaiti courts have detained and jailed members of
the ruling family for crimes including “political tweets”, another
for selling food unfit for human consumption, a ruling family
member Editor in Chief was also detained for insulting the Emir and
the
public prosecutor. In other rare cases for the Gulf, members of the Kuwaiti ruling family have received much harsher sentences; one was sentenced to death for killing his nephew and another to death for drug trafficking.
There are few records of other Gulf States sentencing members of their ruling families for offences although the UAE today detains one ruling family member from Ras Al Khaimah and has previously put another from Abu Dhabi on trial. Qatar sentenced members of the ruling family for
life in 2000 - however that was for an attempted coup against the Emir himself. The judiciary in the Gulf is prone to interference; it is also not uncommon for judges to be replaced halfway through a trial, for appeals judges to serve in courts of first instances or for judges to remove defendants during their own trials. One of the reasons why the judiciary is not independent is the fact that many judges are themselves not citizens of these Gulf States, nor are appointments assured for life. Incumbents can therefore come under a great deal of pressure from the authorities." (thanks Sultan)
public prosecutor. In other rare cases for the Gulf, members of the Kuwaiti ruling family have received much harsher sentences; one was sentenced to death for killing his nephew and another to death for drug trafficking.
There are few records of other Gulf States sentencing members of their ruling families for offences although the UAE today detains one ruling family member from Ras Al Khaimah and has previously put another from Abu Dhabi on trial. Qatar sentenced members of the ruling family for
life in 2000 - however that was for an attempted coup against the Emir himself. The judiciary in the Gulf is prone to interference; it is also not uncommon for judges to be replaced halfway through a trial, for appeals judges to serve in courts of first instances or for judges to remove defendants during their own trials. One of the reasons why the judiciary is not independent is the fact that many judges are themselves not citizens of these Gulf States, nor are appointments assured for life. Incumbents can therefore come under a great deal of pressure from the authorities." (thanks Sultan)
