KCC 603/2005
Type
Case
Court
Kuwait Court of Cassation
Jurisdiction
Kuwait
Taxonomy
Drugs, Sentencing Powers & General Principles of Sentencing
Copyright
LexisNexis
Decision date
3 Oct 2006
Catchwords
Drugs Offences – Commercial Use – Personal Use – Sentencing
This case involved an appeal of a life sentences by two individuals who had been accused of trading in drugs. It was wrongly argued the amounts were so small they must have been for personal use. The crime of possession of the drugs for personal use cannot be separated from the crime of the possession of drugs for commercial use.
Background
The court ruled that two defendants should be imprisoned for five years and be fined 5000 Dinars for drugs trading.
The defendants and the Public Prosecution appealed the ruling before the court of appeal. The court changed the appealed ruling and issued a life sentence to the defendants.
Decision
The defendants appealed the ruling before the court of cassation and stated in their grounds of appeal that the ruling had erred in the application of law because the court had established its ruling based on the argument that they were trading in the drugs although the quantity of the drugs which had been confiscated was small.