KUWAIT CITY, March 23: The Court of Cassation, headed by Counselor Fouad Al-Zuwaid, rejected the appeal filed by several citizens in a financial claims case arguing that the lawyer’s signature on the petition was invalid due to the lawyer signing the appeal without indicating that he is registered with this court. In its ruling, the court cited Article 153 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which stipulates that “the appeal shall be filed with the registry and signed by a lawyer, which shall include -- in addition to information relating to the names, descriptions, residence, and place of work of the parties -- the identification of the contested judgment, its date, a statement of the grounds upon which the appeal is based, and the appellant’s requests. If the appeal is not filed in this manner, it is invalid, and the court shall rule on its motion to invalidate it.”

The court ruled that the invalidity was related to public order and that the court would rule on it on its initiative. The court stated that this indicates that the legislature requires the parties to appoint lawyers admitted before the Court of Cassation to represent them in conducting proceedings and pleading before it. The rationale behind this is that the court only considers legal matters. Only lawyers qualified to examine legal matters may submit, sign, and plead appeals. Failure to do so renders the appeal invalid.

The court pointed out that the documents indicate “although the appeal petition was issued by the lawyer’s office, the signature under the lawyer’s name was preceded by the word ‘voluntarily’-- a signature by someone claiming to be a lawyer without any evidence of his status as a lawyer admitted before the Court of Cassation. The court explained that since the appeal’s brief --like all pleading documents -- must contain the necessary elements to fulfill its validity requirements; that it be signed by a lawyer admitted before the Court of Cassation. This is because his signature is the sole document attesting to its legally required issuance. This statement cannot be supplemented by evidence outside of the brief, not derived from it. Consequently, the brief becomes invalid. This invalidity is related to public order, and the court rules on its own initiative. Therefore, it is necessary to declare the appeal inadmissible.