‘The ‘politeness’ of some representatives has gone beyond the limits. Kuwait is a State with an Amir and everyone knows his powers that are stipulated in the Constitution. Therefore, it is shameful that some representatives are ignorant of a matter that is not within their jurisdiction, especially about the powers of His Highness the Amir, specifically who he chooses as the Crown Prince. Thus, it is necessary to stop some representatives and citizens from issuing statements in this regard.’ “It is known, and even self-evident, that whoever seeks to represent the people in any parliament should know the Constitution well. He must be familiar with the laws or have a team of advisors or legal experts. In the end, he is a legislator.
The legislator does not throw sand and does not enact a law on his own or according to his mood. He does not listen to those in his Diwaniya and then proposes a law. As long as some representatives do not understand their limits when it comes to a matter that is the core of the powers of the head of State, in which no one has the right to interfere, we know why Kuwait has fallen behind over the past three decades. “When some representatives issue statements or post on X (formerly Twitter) about who they think should be given the Crown Prince post and they do not have any authority over this matter, and in fact, no one consulted them about it, we must know that majority of the laws issued since 1992 till date are the reasons behind the frightening decline that Kuwait has been suffering from, because they drafted laws without knowledge or experience. One of them even spent 30 years in the prosecution. “It is unfortunate that the legal culture of some representatives has descended to this level. It is even more disgraceful that these people are in charge of legislation, but the responsibility falls on the voters who chose even those who are ignorant of the constitutional rights of citizens, and the duties of representatives towards the people and other authorities.
“Without a doubt, there is a big problem about parliamentary work and how the Constitution is utilized to deal with the issue of His Highness the Amir’s choice of the Crown Prince. For this reason, some representatives should read Article Four of the Constitution. They must understand its purpose and how the founders of the Constitution sought to explain it in great detail because they realized from the beginning that Kuwait is a State of institutions and it has an Amir whom no one disputes on the selection of the Crown Prince. “Rather, the article specifies the jurisdiction of the representatives, and that the appointment of the Crown Prince must be through an Amiri order. The matter is known in the language, as well as the meaning of an order.
The same article stipulates that ‘his appointment shall be through an Amiri order based on the recommendation of the Amir and a pledge of allegiance from the National Assembly that takes place in a special session, with the approval of the majority of the members.’ If the appointment is not made in the aforementioned manner, the Amir shall recommend at least three of the descendants entitled to the succession of the Crown Prince and the Assembly shall pledge allegiance to one of them as Crown Prince. “Did those involved in this matter realize that they are attacking the Amir’s powers? Do they know that the law punishes them for that? If they know, it is a disaster. If they do not realize it, then the disaster is greater. The question remains: Why this impudence?”
By Sattam Ahmed Al-Jarallah
e-mail: [email protected]
