The Court of Cassation affirmed that freedom of movement is one of the basic freedoms stipulated in the constitution within the rights of citizens, and that it is not permissible to permanently prevent travel, reports Al-Qabas daily. The court indicated that the constitution prohibits restricting freedom of movement except in accordance with the provisions of the law, including the permission to place controls and restrictions on that freedom in public interest and the security and safety of society, but it is not permissible to prevent a citizen from moving permanently.
The court said this after a citizen who was in Europe and was accused of drug abuse, and subsequently released, returned to the country, but the concerned authorities decided to prevent him from traveling and accused him of harming Kuwait’s reputation abroad and withdrew his passport, and accordingly he filed a lawsuit. The Court of Cassation added, in the rationale for its ruling, which canceled the decision to withdraw a citizen’s passport for committing a felony abroad, “The withdrawal of a Kuwaiti citizen’s passport is one of the most prominent forms of preventing a citizen from traveling and restricting his freedom of movement.
“Therefore, the authority of the administrative authority to restrict freedom of movement for reasons it considers the reputation of the state abroad is limited, and it depends on the period of passport withdrawal being commensurate with the issue for which the passport was withdrawn, without exaggeration that results in prolonging this period in a way that leads to depriving the citizen whose passport has been withdrawn of the right to movement for many years without worthy reasons and justifications. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice has added the travel ban inquiry service on ‘Sahel’ application, making it easier for citizens and expatriates to find out if a court ruling was issued against them that could prevent them from traveling, reports Al-Anba daily.
Undersecretary of the ministry of justice Hashim Al-Qallaf disclosed in a press statement that the service provides details of the travel ban and the amount due. “Once payment is made, the ban will be lifted and a notification will be sent to the concerned person. The notices on imposing or lifting a travel ban will be activated in the application soon,” he added.
Source- Arab Times.
