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Kuwaiti court quashes petrol price hike

September 29, 2016 at 3:31 pm

A Kuwaiti administrative court ruled yesterday that Kuwait’s decision to raise petrol prices would be reversed, Anadolu Agency reported.

The administrative court did not provide reasons for why the government’s move to raise prices at the pumps enacted earlier this month was quashed, but made its judgment after an appeal by Kuwaiti lawyer Nawaf Al-Fuzai.

Al-Fuzai said that the lawsuit argued that increasing petrol prices should be made by a bill of law passed by parliament, and should not be a decision unilaterally taken by the Kuwaiti Council of Ministers.

“I think that the judge was convinced by the arguments we made,” Al-Fuzai said.

The court is expected to issue its verdict in detail before the end of the week, and the Council of Ministers may then choose to appeal it.

In comments regarding why the court made its ruling, Ali Al-Ali, one of the lawyers who filed the suit, said that the court determined that the government’s decision to raise prices was flawed procedurally, as the recommendation to increase prices was not submitted to the Supreme Petroleum Council.

The Supreme Petroleum Council is the highest policy body in the Kuwaiti state, which oversees the overall petroleum and gas sectors in the diminutive Arab Gulf state.