Kuwait court upholds salary scale decision for National Assembly staff

Kuwait's Constitutional Court has rejected an appeal challenging the Civil Service Commission's (CSC) decision to implement a general salary scale for employees at the National Assembly Secretariat. The Appeals Review Committee affirmed the constitutionality of the CSC's move, ruling that it does not infringe upon acquired legal rights or violate constitutional principles of equality and separation of powers.

The committee, led by Judge Adel Al-Bahao, accepted the appeal procedurally but dismissed it on substantive grounds. This decision upholds the original judgment and mandates the appellant to bear the legal costs. The appellant, a department head at the Secretariat, had sought to annul the decision and maintain his monthly salary of KD4,944. He argued that the salary scale change violated his acquired rights, reduced his benefits, and breached equality principles due to the distinct nature of his work compared to other state employees. He also claimed the CSC overstepped its authority, violating the separation of powers and retroactively undermining his job security.

In its reasoning, the court emphasized that a constitutional challenge requires a ruling on the constitutional issue to resolve the dispute and a genuine indication of conflict with the Constitution. The court found neither condition was met. It explained that a decree-law suspended the National Assembly's internal regulations and applied the Civil Service Law to Secretariat employees. Consequently, the CSC decided to implement the general salary scale, a decision now upheld by the Constitutional Court.

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The committee affirmed the constitutionality of the decision, stressing that it does not infringe upon acquired legal rights and does not violate the constitutional principles of equality or separation of powers.