PROPERTY RIGHTS OF STATELESS PERSONS IN KUWAIT BETWEEN ISLAMIC LAW AND KUWAITI LEGISLATION: CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS
الملكية والحقوق الاقتصادية لغير محددي الجنسية في الكويت بين الشريعة الإسلامية والقانون الكويتي: التحديات ومسارات المعالجة
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64757/alqanatir.2026.3504/1375Keywords:
Bidun, Property, Rights, Kuwait, LawAbstract
This paper examines the property rights of Kuwait’s stateless population (Bidun) through a comparative juristic–legal lens. On the Islamic law side, it frames ownership as a protected right grounded in maqāṣid -allocation, empowerment, and the prevention of harm and abuse- while recognizing narrowly tailored restrictions to safeguard public interest. On the positive-law side, it analyzes the Kuwaiti Civil Code rules on ownership and registration, documentary proof, and the special regime governing non-Kuwaiti real-estate ownership under Decree-Law No. 74/1979, together with company-law developments (including single-shareholder companies) and their relevance to Bidun status. The study also highlights under-addressed economic aspects -access to title, inheritance, finance, and commercial activity- showing how documentation and eligibility requirements, rather than the abstract recognition of ownership, primarily constrain Bidun’s effective enjoyment of property. Findings indicate a structural gap between doctrinal acknowledgment and practical attainability due to proof, registration, and capacity barriers. The paper proposes incremental, pragmatic reforms: streamlining documentary and registration pathways; time-bounding exceptional restrictions; enabling organized forms of ownership or regulated usufruct where long-standing ties to Kuwait are established; and preserving verification tools to maintain public order. Such steps aim to reconcile legal certainty with equity in a manner consistent with Kuwait’s legal framework and the objectives of Islamic law.
ملخص البحث
يبحث هذا المقال الملكية والحقوق الاقتصادية لغير محددي الجنسية في الكويت بين الشريعة الإسلامية والقانون الكويتي، ويهدف إلى تأصيل حق الملكية وضوابط تقييده شرعًا، وتحليل البنية القانونية لاكتساب الملكية وإثباتها في القانون الكويتي، وبيان أثر القيود التشريعية والإجرائية على تمتع البدون بهذا الحق، وصولًا إلى اقتراح مسارات إصلاحية واقعية توازن بين مقتضيات النظام العام ومتطلبات العدالة. اعتمدت الدراسة المنهج التحليلي المقارن بالرجوع إلى مصادر الفقه ونصوص القانون وتطبيقاته، مع توظيف القراءة المقاصدية لفهم حدود التقييد المشروع للحقوق المالية وتحليل نظام التسجيل العقاري وتنظيم تملك غير الكويتيين وقواعد تأسيس الشركات وأثرها العملي. وتخلص الدراسة إلى أن الإشكال الرئيس لا يكمن في غياب الاعتراف النظري بحق الملكية، بل في العوائق العملية المتمثلة في شروط الإثبات والتوثيق، وضعف حجّية نظام التسجيل الشخصي، والقيود الخاصة بتملك غير الكويتيين للعقار، مما أوجد فجوة بين الإقرار القانوني المجرد وإمكان التمتع الفعلي بالحق وانعكس سلبًا على الاستقرار السكني والاقتصادي والاجتماعي. وتقترح الدراسة مسارًا إصلاحيًا متدرجًا يقوم على تبسيط إجراءات التوثيق والتسجيل ورفع كفاءتها، وضبط القيود الاستثنائية زمنيًا ومجاليًا، وتمكين صيغ منظّمة للتملك أو الانتفاع عند تحقق معايير إقامة مستقرة، مع الإبقاء على أدوات التحقق القانونية، بما يحقق التوازن بين سيادة القانون ومقاصد الشريعة في حفظ المال ومنع الضرر ويعزز العدالة والثقة في المنظومة القانونية.
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