JUSTICE MINISTER STRESSES INDEPENDENCE OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 003965 SIPDIS SIPDIS NOFORN FOR NEA/ARP, EB/ESC/TFS, S/CT TREASURY FOR PATRICK HEFFERNAN, RACHEL LOEFFLER AND KRISTEN HECHT E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/27/2016 TAGS: PGOV KIPR KTFN EFIN PTER KU SUBJECT: JUSTICE MINISTER STRESSES INDEPENDENCE OF JUDICIARY AND BETTER PROSECUTION OF IPR AND MONEY-LAUNDERING Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C/NF) The Ambassador met with Dr. Abdullah Al-Maatouq, who currently serves as both Minister of Justice and Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, on September 27 to inquire about his plans for the Ministry of Justice. The Minister, who took over the Justice portfolio in February, said that previous ministers had politicized the Ministry and that he had spent the previous six months making adjustments to the bureaucracy in order to de-politicize it. He predicted that a new law would soon pass to increase independence of the judiciary. While insisting that the government rarely, if ever, interfered in actual cases, he acknowledged that it did interfere too much in judicial appointments. (Note: Human rights activists' main criticism of the Kuwaiti judicial system is executive control of appointments in the judicial branch. A prominent activist told PolOff that there are many qualified Kuwaitis who get passed over for judgeships in favor of Egyptians because Kuwaitis get lifetime appointments, whereas Egyptians get 1 - 3 year terms and can therefore be pressured into making pro-government rulings. End Note.) The Amir has approved, according to the Minister, the building of a social club for judges. The Minister hopes that the club, along with his raising of their salaries, will make them immune to corruption. His other main goal is to improve enforcement of judicial rulings. ¶2. (C/NF) The Ambassador expressed concern that prosecutors were not sufficiently qualified to prosecute cases dealing with intellectual property rights (IPR),money laundering, and trafficking in persons. The Minister agreed wholeheartedly and said he intended to improve training of prosecutors. (Note: Post is working with regional legal advisor to develop training ideas for prosecutors that could be funded out of DOJ's Office of Prosecutorial Development and Training). ¶3. (C/NF) The Minster said the Amir had ordered that he addess IPR non-compliance, as it was hurting Kuwait's international reputation. He noted that the GOK gave money to a local NGO to hold an IPR conference in Kuwait. Al-Maatouq also mentioned that a gang of Indian automobile spare-parts counterfeiters had recently been rounded up and deported, winning praise from General Motors. (Note: In addition to software and DVDs, there is a large market for counterfeit car parts. End note.) ¶4. (C/NF) On money laundering, the Minister said that Kuwaiti law needs to be amended. Unfortunately, he said, Kuwaiti lawmakers were not as interested in the issue as they were in issues that enabled them to provide direct services to their constituents. (Note: the National Committee for CTF/AML is circulating draft amendments to strengthen Kuwait's existing anti-money-laundering law, to including criminalizing terrorism financing. End Note.) ********************************************* * For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ ********************************************* * LeBaron