The Court of First Instance ordered payment of KD 20,000 in blood money to the heirs of a deceased expatriate after determining that the perpetrator could not be identified following a thorough investigation. This decision applies the revised rate for diya that took effect under Decree-Law No. 8 of 2025, according to details of the ruling. The family will receive the compensation from the public treasury in line with provisions for cases where liability cannot be assigned to an individual or insurer. The amount matches the new standard established to address gaps in the previous framework.
The Ministry of Justice detailed the amendment in a statement last year that highlighted how the prior amount of KD 10,000 had remained static since 1980 despite significant economic shifts and declining purchasing power. Decree-Law No. 8 of 2025, signed by the Amir and published in the Official Gazette in March 2025, doubled the fixed compensation to better reflect current financial conditions and Sharia principles of justice. The ministry added that the law now requires any future changes to follow full legislative procedures rather than executive decree to promote stability in the legal system.
Legal expert Attorney Meshari Alenezi outlined in an analysis published on September 6, 2026 on his firm’s website that the full diya is distributed among heirs according to their Sharia shares in the estate. He noted that this fixed sum covers fatal road accidents, medical errors and certain assaults, while separate claims for moral damages can increase the total recovery in many instances. Alenezi advised families in similar situations to assess all potential heads of damage beyond the statutory blood money to secure comprehensive relief.
Kuwait’s expatriate community, which the Public Authority for Civil Information places at approximately 3.3 million people or more than two-thirds of the total population, frequently figures in such compensation cases. Central Statistical Bureau figures have shown traffic incidents as a persistent cause of mortality, with non-nationals often overrepresented due to their concentration in labor-intensive fields like construction and transportation. The updated diya rate aims to provide more meaningful support to affected families across this demographic, aligning compensation with contemporary economic indicators.
The ruling underscores the judicial system’s application of the new legal threshold in an unsolved fatality, where no suspect was ever named despite police efforts. Court records indicate the decision brings a measure of closure to the family’s claim without the need to identify or prosecute an offender. Similar precedents exist in Kuwaiti jurisprudence for hit-and-run or unknown assailant scenarios involving expatriate victims, ensuring that bereaved relatives are not left without recourse.
This development follows the government’s 2025 initiative to modernize compensation laws, as outlined in the Cabinet’s memorandum accompanying the decree. The memorandum stressed that the adjustment prevents the diya from losing its deterrent and compensatory functions amid inflation and rising living costs. Officials have pointed to historical Islamic precedents for adjusting blood money values in response to economic changes as justification for the reform that took effect last year.
