Kuwait

Information uploaded as at September 2026

AT A GLANCE

AI in Kuwait's justice sector is concentrated in law enforcement and court administration rather than legal decision-making. The Ministry of Interior has deployed AI-enabled ‘smart patrols’ with facial recognition, automated licence-plate readers, and fingerprint scanners linked to central databases, alongside AI traffic-surveillance cameras.Prosecutors are using a new digital platform, and defence counsel have various tools available for legal research, analysis and drafting support. Relevant training is emerging through general programmes including the Kuwait Skills Programme and an earlier Bar Association arrangement offering discounted access to the Oqood legal AI platform for over 4,000 lawyers.

No legislation expressly regulates AI in criminal or court proceedings. The Code of Procedure and Criminal Trial (1960) has no rules on AI-generated evidence, algorithmic investigation, automated risk assessment, or AI disclosure. The gap is instead covered indirectly by the Electronic Transactions Law, the Cybercrime Law, CITRA’s Data Privacy Protection Regulation, the Cloud Computing Regulatory Framework, and general constitutional privacy and fair-trial guarantees. CITRA has issued a non-binding AI ethics guide, and the National AI Strategy (2025–2028) names ‘Public Safety and Justice’ as a priority sector — proposing AI case management, transcription, and hearing-management tools — but remains a roadmap, not law. A December 2023 bill to create a Public Authority for Artificial Intelligence effectively lapsed when the National Assembly was dissolved in May 2024.

USE

Law enforcement

Operational support

The Ministry of Interior (‘MOI’) has begun monitoring AI-facilitated online misinformation in close coordination with the Kuwaiti Army, National Guard, National Cybersecurity Center, and the Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (‘CITRA’). Through this collaboration, the MOI is able to monitor misleading online content, including content generated using AI technologies. The MOI also launched multilingual public awareness campaigns targeting citizens.

Data review and analysis

AI-powered smart patrol vehicles were launched in Kuwait in September 2025 by the General Department of Security Systems, under the MOI’s Human Resources and Information Technology Sector. The vehicles were developed by specialised national teams and equipped with advanced technologies, including AI, to support smart surveillance and enhance security operations across the country. Key features include smart mobile cameras linked to facial recognition software for identifying suspects, automated licence plate readers for detecting wanted vehicles in real time, and mobile fingerprint scanners that allow officers to verify identities immediately. Systems are directly connected to the MOI’s central criminal and civil databases, using AI algorithms to process images and data instantly. This feature provides field officers with immediate, data-driven intelligence, significantly streamlining security procedures by automatically flagging wanted individuals or suspicious vehicles and reducing reliance on manual checks. According to the MOI, the deployment of the vehicles forms part of a broader strategy to digitise and modernise Kuwait’s security framework.

3D facial recognition in Kuwait City is also being advanced. Private and public sector deployment of AI-powered facial recognition is expanding in Kuwait City, including 3D Facial Recognition, which is a new technology that improves the traditional 2D recognition by bringing dimensions and depth for better quality. The advantages include improved accuracy in different conditions (effective even in dim light), real-time analysis providing instant recognition, and fraud prevention through detection of attempts to use photos or masks.

AI-powered traffic surveillance cameras have also been developed by the Kuwait Police Department and the MOI. In November 2024, the MOI began installing AI-powered traffic surveillance cameras as part of a national initiative to enhance road safety and enforce traffic regulations. Approximately 252 AI-powered cameras were installed on highways and at key intersections experiencing heavy traffic, across Kuwait’s six governorates. The cameras are specifically designed to detect seatbelt violations, mobile phone use while driving, children sitting in front seats, and failure to adhere to lane markings. All detected violations are reviewed by a human operator before the driver is issued a ticket. Performance data indicates that the cameras recorded 40,000 seatbelt and phone violations in twenty days of operation. A 25% reduction in violations was observed in December 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

A mandatory biometric fingerprinting project was launched by the MOI in March 2024. It requires all Kuwaiti citizens, residents, and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nationals aged 18 and above to undergo biometric enrolment, including fingerprint, facial, and iris scans. The programme was initially scheduled to be completed within three months. Its aim is to modernise Kuwait’s security infrastructure by linking all official transactions to a central biometric database, reducing identity fraud, and preventing individuals who have been found guilty of forging documents from re-entering the country. By late 2024, more than 3 million citizens and foreign residents had been registered. Following the mass registration campaign, the system became operational at border crossings, including Kuwait International Airport, and at security centres across the country by August 2024.

In March 2026, the MOI and the Kuwait Fire Force announced further plans to develop AI-powered robotics for identity recognition and detection, as well as AI-enabled firefighting solutions, with a total budget of USD 12 million. The initiative involves deploying quadruped robotic systems with wheels in public areas, including shopping malls and public parking facilities, to enhance security and surveillance operations. The robots will be equipped with integrated camera systems, real-time video streaming capabilities, secure data transmission protocols, and direct connectivity to the Ministry of Interior’s facial recognition platforms.

Prosecutors

Case management

At the seventh Kuwait Conference on Combating Cybercrime, held in January 2026, Kuwait launched a new digital platform designed to speed up responses to cybercrime reports by using AI. The platform was developed in collaboration with Interpol as part of wider efforts to create a trusted and secure digital environment. Cybercrime reports processed through the platform would be referred to the Public Prosecution for investigation and charging decisions.

Courts

As at September 2026, there are no reported uses of AI by courts and judicial staff in Kuwait, though the judiciary is taking broader steps to transition to an electronic case management system.

Defence

Legal research, analysis and drafting support

As at September 2026, there are no reports of specific tools for defence counsel in Kuwait. However, the following tools are available to lawyers in Kuwait and may be used for legal research:

• Oqood.ai has entered into a strategic partnership with the Kuwait Lawyers Association to provide a bilingual AI-powered legal technology platform. Oqood.ai is an AI-powered legal workspace designed for lawyers in the Middle East and North Africa region, offering bilingual legal information, AI-assisted contract drafting, document review, and streamlined legal workflows. It serves over 4,000 lawyers in Kuwait and provides access to more than 20,000 legal documents, books, and resources.
• Harvey AI, an American AI platform designed specifically for legal professionals and in-house legal teams, has also been present in Kuwait, providing its services to leading law firms since 2023. Harvey offers AI-assisted legal research, document drafting, contract review, document analysis, workflow automation, and knowledge management in a single environment. The platform also allows users to search across their firm’s internal documents and trusted external legal sources, helping lawyers complete routine tasks more efficiently while supporting more complex legal analysis and collaboration with clients and colleagues.
• Legora, a Swedish company, has been used in Kuwait since 2025. Legora is a collaborative AI platform for legal work that aims to combine lawyers’ expertise with AI to improve the way legal services are delivered. It supports lawyers throughout the legal workflow, including legal research, document review, drafting, and matter management, while connecting internal knowledge, external data sources, and communication tools in a single system.
• LexisNexis provides fully consolidated and updated Kuwaiti legislation in both Arabic and English, covering the country’s legal corpus and serving lawyers across the jurisdiction. The platform has also integrated its Protégé AI assistant, which enables users to submit complex prompts in natural language and receive AI-generated reports that can be copied or downloaded. Its core features include Ask (for legal research), Draft (for preparing legal arguments), Upload (allowing users to securely upload documents for analysis), and Summarise (for generating summaries of materials).
• Qistas is a Jordanian-headquartered commercial legal research platform covering primary legislation, secondary regulation, and judicial decisions across nine Arab jurisdictions, including Kuwait. It describes itself as the leading legal intelligence platform for the Arab world and applies advanced AI across its platform to enable semantic search, contextual retrieval, and legally grounded analysis.

Victims

Victims have indirect standing in criminal proceedings in Kuwait. They have no independent right to bring or conduct a private criminal prosecution: prosecution is conducted by the Public Prosecution in felony cases and by the competent investigators in misdemeanour cases, and courts may only hear cases referred to them by these authorities, save in exceptional cases provided by law (Articles 9, 105 and 129 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Trials (Law No. 17 of 1960, as amended).

As at September 2026, there are no reported uses of AI by victims in Kuwait.

TRAINING

As at September 2026, there are no systematic or mandatory training programmes available to judges, prosecutors, lawyers, or law enforcement officers on the responsible use of AI, despite calls from Kuwait’s Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice.

Optional training programmes nonetheless remain available for legal professionals. Examples of these programmes include:

• In October 2024, the Saad Al-Abdullah Academy for Security Sciences organised a training course on AI and cybercrimes for members of the MOI, as well as other relevant governmental and educational institutions.
• In April 2025, the Kuwait Lawyers Association launched an initiative called Ibtikar (meaning ‘Innovation’) to train and qualify national legal talent in the field of AI and to support innovative digital projects for developing the legal and judicial system, courts, and law offices. As part of the Digital Transformation Summit, held in Kuwait, the Kuwait Lawyers Association also organised a workshop on How to Use AI Applications in Legal Analysis and the Legal Profession.
• In November 2025, the Kuwait Skills Programme was launched in collaboration with Microsoft. This is a workforce development initiative aiming to train more than 30,000 government employees, 4,000 technical experts, and 350 leaders on AI and cloud technologies, while enabling over 100,000 users to access Copilot tools through a new Centre of Excellence developed jointly with the Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT).
• Google Cloud has also partnered with the CAIT on a national skilling programme to upskill government employees in data analytics, machine learning, and AI, with a target of training more than 5,000 citizens, students, and workers.

Legal professionals from Kuwait have also reportedly engaged in international training:

• In 2019, Kuwait was among the states represented at a specialised training course on AI, co-organised by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (‘UNICRI’), through its Centre for AI and Robotics, and the Dubai Judicial Institute, with the support of the Government of Dubai. The training, entitled ‘Shaping the Future of Judicial Knowledge’, and themed ‘AI Today and Beyond’, was described by UNICRI as the first specialised training to enhance judicial knowledge on AI. The course was attended by more than 100 participants from the United Arab Emirates.
• On 8 December 2024, the Center of Legal and Judicial Studies at the Qatar Ministry of Justice, in collaboration with the Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture, and Science, and the UNESCO Office for the Gulf States and Yemen, launched a regional training workshop on ‘Global Tools for AI and the Rule of Law in Doha’. The workshop brought together participants from ten Arab countries, including Kuwait, to explore ways in which AI can shape the future of justice. The workshop was held within the framework of UNESCO’s broader AI and the Rule of Law programme, which since 2022 has trained more than 11,000 judicial operators, including judges, prosecutors, clerks, court staff, and lawyers, through national and regional in-person and online training worldwide.

REGULATION

As at September 2026, there is no national legislation governing the use of AI in court proceedings in Kuwait, and there is no specific regulatory body that governs the AI framework. There are, however, various guidance and strategy documents specific to the use of AI, and existing general regulations, such as the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Electronic Transactions Law, the Data Privacy Protection Regulation, the Cybercrime Law, and the Cloud Computing Regulatory Framework which still apply to the use of AI in the context of criminal proceedings. The National AI Strategy (2025–2028) sets policy direction but is not enforceable law.

AI regulations

Guide to AI Ethics (2025)

CITRA has issued a Guide to AI Ethics (الدليل الإرشادي لأخلاقيات الذكاء الاصطناعي), which emphasises transparency, accountability, data protection, inclusivity, and non-discrimination in AI development and implementation. While the Guide is a non-binding instrument, it is applicable to the public and private sectors in Kuwait. It represents the most direct official statement on AI ethics principles in Kuwait.

The Guide defines AI Systems as:

‘Systems capable of applying advanced analytics and logic-based technologies, including machine learning, to interpret events, support and implement decisions, and make decisions. Examples include, but are not limited to, robots, chatbots, intelligent virtual assistants such as Google Assistant, Cortana, Siri, and Alexa, autonomous vehicles, drones, smart homes, smart cities, content generation, display and discovery systems, and certain smart device applications.’

Section 5 of the Guide establishes an ethical framework for the responsible development and use of AI in Kuwait by defining four core values and four guiding principles.

The four values emphasise:

1. Respect for individuals and protection from AI-related harm, ensuring that AI systems preserve human dignity, autonomy, and well-being;
2. Respect for Islamic Sharia, the Constitution, and applicable laws, requiring AI to operate within Kuwait’s legal and cultural framework;
3. Environmental protection and sustainability, encouraging the responsible use of resources and mitigation of environmental impacts; and
4. The peaceful use of AI to enhance human well-being, with particular consideration for vulnerable groups.

Complementing these values are the following four guiding principles:

1. Promotion of transparency, procedural fairness, and explainability to foster trust in AI systems;
2. Protection of rights and accountability through appropriate governance, oversight, and mechanisms for redress;
3. Data protection and privacy by ensuring robust data governance and cybersecurity measures; and
4. Inclusion, diversity, objectivity, and non-discrimination, ensuring equitable access to AI benefits while preventing bias and discriminatory outcomes.

Together, these values and principles provide a comprehensive ethical foundation for trustworthy, human-centric AI that aligns with Kuwait’s legal, social, and cultural priorities.

National AI Strategy (2025)

The most significant policy development is Kuwait’s National AI Strategy (2025–2028), published in early 2025 by the CAIT, building on an earlier Microsoft-authored whitepaper. The National AI Strategy proposes establishing a High-Level Steering Committee — a cross-sectoral body bringing together senior representatives from the CAIT, CITRA, the National Cybersecurity Center, key ministries, academia, and private-sector partners — to coordinate national AI initiatives and ensure alignment between regulation, infrastructure, and innovation. The Strategy is a roadmap and set of recommendations, rather than binding law.

The Strategy sets out priorities for Kuwait’s AI Strategy:

1. Short-term priorities: Year 1: establishing an AI Centre of Excellence, launching sector-specific pilot projects, and establishing a centralised data repository;
2. Medium-term goals: Years 2–3: scaling successful pilots, integrating AI into core services, and strengthening regulatory compliance; and
3. Long-term ambitions: by 2028: full integration of AI in public and private sectors and establishing Kuwait as a regional AI hub.

The National AI Strategy also proposes AI safety frameworks, including safety brakes for critical infrastructure, and a shared-responsibility model defining the respective roles of regulators and technology providers in safeguarding AI systems and data. Aligned with Kuwait’s Vision 2035, the Strategy calls for strengthening the country’s data and digital foundations through centralised repositories, standardised governance policies, and cybersecurity baselines, enabling responsible AI deployment across priority sectors such as healthcare, education, energy, and public safety.

The National AI Strategy does not specifically address the legal profession or the administration of justice in detail. The priority sectors identified in the strategy include government and public services, healthcare, education, energy, finance, transportation, and cities and urban infrastructure. ‘Public Safety and Justice’ appears as a category for AI deployment (with objectives relating to situational awareness), with specific use cases including:

1. Case management and analysis (managing and analysing case files efficiently);
2. AI-powered chatbot (assisting citizens with legal inquiries and administrative processes);
3. Automated transcription services (transcribing court proceedings and legal documents); and
4. AI-powered platform for hearing management (managing and recording hearings across the country).

Guidelines for practitioners

As at September 2026, Kuwait does not have any formal guidelines specifically addressing the use of AI by legal practitioners. Neither the Kuwait Bar Association, the Kuwait Lawyers Society, nor the Ministry of Justice has issued guidance on matters such as the use of AI in legal research, disclosure obligations when using AI-generated work product, confidentiality considerations, or competence requirements regarding AI technology.

In the absence of AI-specific guidance, legal practitioners in Kuwait are expected to adhere to their general professional obligations, including duties of competence, confidentiality, supervision, and honesty. These general duties would apply to the use of AI tools in legal practice, but no formal framework articulates how they should be applied in the AI context.

As of September 2026, no publicly available, binding professional rules specifically governing lawyers’ use of AI were identified in the sources reviewed.

Lawyers’ general professional obligations are set out in Law No. 42 of 1964 Regulating the Legal Profession before the Courts, as amended (the “Legal Profession Law”). Provisions relevant to AI-assisted work include:

1. Confidentiality and integrity (Article 11): Lawyers must swear to practise law honestly and honourably and preserve professional secrecy. This is relevant when entering client information into AI tools.
2. Responsibility (Article 22): Lawyers remain responsible to clients for performing their mandate according to law and its terms, including work prepared with AI assistance.
3. Signature of pleadings (Article 18): Subject to exceptions for claims not exceeding KWD 5,000 and proceedings brought by the Government, specified pleadings require an appropriately admitted lawyer’s signature. AI drafting does not replace this requirement.
4. Oversight (Articles 6 bis and 24): These provisions regulate trainees and delegation to other lawyers. Although they do not address AI, Articles 22 and 35 support retaining oversight of AI-assisted work.
5. Disciplinary liability (Article 35): Disclosure of client secrets and gross negligence causing lost rights or missed appeal deadlines constitute misconduct. Misuse of AI could engage these provisions.

These applications to AI are interpretations of general professional duties, rather than express AI-specific requirements.

Criminal procedure rules

Code of Procedure and Criminal Trials (1960)

Kuwait’s criminal proceedings are governed by the Code of Procedure and Criminal Trials. The Code establishes the procedural framework for the investigation, prosecution, and adjudication of criminal offences in Kuwait, setting out rules on evidence, arrest, detention, trial procedure, and appeals. The Code does not contain any provisions specifically addressing AI, the admissibility of AI-generated evidence, algorithmic tools in sentencing or risk assessment, or disclosure obligations relating to the use of AI by prosecution or defence. In the absence of AI-specific provisions, general procedural safeguards and evidentiary rules would apply to any AI-related matters that arise in criminal proceedings.

No provisions specifically regulating AI were identified in the sources reviewed. However, the following general provisions of the Code of Procedure and Criminal Trials (Law No. 17 of 1960, as amended) may be relevant to AI-assisted investigation, evidence gathering and judicial decision-making:

1. Article 37: The Code permits additional evidence-gathering methods provided they do not offend public morals or harm individuals’ freedoms and rights. Measures restricting the accused’s liberty must remain within the limits authorised by the Code and required by necessity. These safeguards may apply to AI-assisted evidence gathering;
2. Article 45: Police may use methods of inquiry that do not harm individuals or restrict their freedoms. Formal investigative acts require investigator status or written delegation. These limits may be relevant to police use of AI tools;
3. Articles 78-80: The Code protects persons, homes and communications and regulates searches through warrants;
4. Article 87: requires an investigator’s order clearly identifying correspondence to be monitored or searched and limits monitoring to what the investigation requires;
5. Articles 100–101 and 170: Investigators and courts may obtain expert assistance, and parties may submit their own expert reports. Expert evidence may assist in assessing the methodology and reliability of AI-derived material;
6. Article 151: The court forms its conclusions from evidence obtained through the investigation or prior investigations and may not base its judgment on the judge’s personal knowledge. This governs the assessment of AI-derived evidence alongside other evidence; and
7. Article 175: Judgments must state their reasons or are void. Where AI-derived material is relied upon, this requirement is relevant to explaining the evidential basis of the decision, although it does not expressly impose algorithmic explainability requirements.

Data protection legislation

In Kuwait, data protection is addressed through a combination of legislation and sector-specific regulation. These laws and regulations do not contain any provisions specifically addressing AI.

Electronic Transactions Law (2014)

The Electronic Transactions Law (Law No. 20 of 2014) was introduced to govern civil, commercial, and administrative transactions conducted in whole or in part through electronic means. It includes provisions relating to the privacy and protection of private and public electronic records, documents, and information, and applies to private companies, government authorities, public institutions, non-governmental organisations, and their employees. The following provisions may be relevant to AI:

1. Automated contracting (Article 8): Recognises contracts concluded through appropriately programmed automated systems, provided contractual conditions are fulfilled and the systems function properly. This may be relevant to AI-assisted contracting;
2. Electronic records (Article 9): An electronic document or record has legal effect only if it is (a) saved in the form in which it was created, sent or received, or in a form that readily proves the accuracy of its data; (b) storable and retrievable at any time; (c) capable of identifying its creator or sender and the date and time of sending or receipt; and (d) saved in an electronic format in accordance with the conditions set by the competent supervisory authority;
3. Personal data (Articles 32 and 35): Establish restrictions concerning access, disclosure, consent and purpose limitation of personal data, together with duties of accuracy and security. These may affect personal data supplied to AI tools or reused for training;
4. Access (Article 33): Allows individuals to access their personal data and obtain an official extract, except for data held by governmental security bodies for national-security reasons;
5. Correction and deletion (Article 36): Allows requests to amend or delete inaccurate personal data, or replace it following changes; and
6. Penalties (Article 37(f)): Breaches of Article 32 and Article 35’s first-paragraph prohibitions attract imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of KWD 5,000–20,000, or either penalty, subject to stricter penalties under other laws and doubled penalties for repeat offences.

Data Privacy Protection Regulation (2021)

The Data Privacy Protection Regulation was originally issued as Decision No. 42 of 2021, applying broadly to the public and private sectors. It was subsequently amended and replaced by Decision No. 26 of 2024, effective 19 February 2024, which significantly narrowed its scope. As amended, the Regulation now applies exclusively to telecom and internet providers licensed by the CITRA (the ‘Licensees’) and imposes consent, transparency, security, transfer notice, and breach notification duties on those Licensees. The definition of ‘Licensee’ covers entities or individuals that provide telecommunications services to the public, manage or operate telecommunications networks, or provide internet services for public communications purposes.

The Regulation sets out conditions for collecting and processing personal data, requires privacy notices in Arabic and English (Article 2(1)–(3)), provides for user rights including access, correction, erasure, objection, and consent withdrawal (Article 4(10)), includes protections for minors (Parental or guardian consent for users under 18 (Article 3(5)), and includes a right not to be subject to solely automated individual decision-making, including profiling. The CITRA must be notified of any personal data breach within 24 hours (Article 6(1)); a separate 72-hour notification duty applies where improper disclosure of stored personal data harms a large number of users (Article 4(15)). The Regulation does not apply to state security authorities holding data for the sole purpose of monitoring and maintaining peace, controlling crime, or preventing threats to public security. The Data Privacy Protection Regulation does not contain any provisions specifically addressing AI.

Right to Access Information Law (2020)

As an additional dimension, Kuwait’s Right to Access Information Legislation (Law No. 12 of 2020) forms part of the broader digital governance landscape. The law was passed to provide Kuwaiti citizens with better access to online information and combat corruption within the governmental framework. The law consists of seven chapters and 17 articles that provide definitions of the terms, comment on people’s right to access information, oblige entities to disclose information, and clarify what information is exempted from disclosure.

Cybersecurity laws

As at September 2026, there are currently no AI-specific cybersecurity laws in Kuwait addressing AI-enabled threats, security requirements for AI systems, algorithmic accountability, or AI incident reporting. However, existing laws may apply.

Cybercrime Law (2015)

The Cybercrime Law (Law No. 63 of 2015) outlines penalties for hacking, unauthorised access, data misuse, and online fraud. Penalties include imprisonment and substantial fines. The following provisions of Law No. 63 of 2015 on Combating Information Technology Crimes establish offences and enforcement mechanisms rather than an AI-specific cybersecurity framework:

1. Automated systems (Article 1): Defines an automated electronic system as a program or system designed to act or respond independently, wholly or partly, without contemporaneous human intervention or supervision. This definition may encompass certain AI systems;
2. Unauthorised access (Article 2): Criminalises unlawful access, including to automated systems, with increased penalties for specified consequences involving data. This may apply to AI-assisted hacking;
3. Electronic forgery (Article 3(2)): Covers fabrication or alteration of electronic records and systems, and their knowing use. AI-generated fabricated documents may qualify where the statutory elements are satisfied;
4. Threats and fraud (Article 3(4)–(5)): Covers electronic threats, extortion, deception and impersonation. These provisions may apply to deepfake-assisted extortion or fraud;
5. Disruption, interception and unlawful content (Article 4): Addresses interference with systems, unauthorised interception and material offending public morals. AI-assisted conduct may fall within these offences;
6. Publishing offences (Articles 6–7): Applies specified offences under the Publications and Publishing Law to electronic conduct. AI-generated content may engage these provisions where it constitutes a specified offence;
7. Confiscation and closure (Article 13): Provides for confiscation and site closure, subject to statutory conditions;
8. Corporate responsibility (Article 14): Addresses financial penalties for legal representatives whose knowing breach of duties contributes to an offence, and entities’ responsibility for financial penalties or compensation in specified circumstances; and
9. Prosecution (Article 17): Gives the Public Prosecution exclusive investigative and prosecutorial competence.

The above provisions and their application depend on the conduct and statutory requirements of each offence.

Kuwait Decree No. 37 (2022)

The National Cybersecurity Center, established by Decree No. 37 of 2022, serves as Kuwait’s authority for cybersecurity and data classification oversight. It sets parameters for cross-border processing of sensitive information, reviews and approves internal data classification processes, and grants authorisation for the storage or processing of sensitive data outside Kuwait. The National Cybersecurity Center’s mandate does not explicitly reference AI, but its oversight of data classification and cross-border transfers would apply to AI systems processing sensitive data.

Cloud Computing Regulatory Framework (2021)

The Cloud Computing Regulatory Framework was issued by the CITRA in September 2021. The Regulations provide for:

• Data Classification and Localisation (Articles 3.1.4, 3.2 and 4.2.1): The framework establishes a tiered data classification system where the most sensitive data (third and fourth levels) must be stored and processed exclusively within Kuwait, while lower-level data may be hosted abroad under certain conditions such as encryption.

• Licensing and Market Access (Articles 2.1-2.5): All cloud service providers must be licensed or registered with CITRA to serve Kuwaiti public sector subscribers, and only providers with data centres inside Kuwait may host third- and fourth-level data.
• Cybersecurity and Breach Notification (Article 4.2.2): Providers must notify affected subscribers within 72 hours of becoming aware of any security breach or data leak, and must notify CITRA within 72 hours where the breach affects many subscribers or a large group of people in Kuwait; providers must also maintain internal policies on business continuity, disaster recovery, and risk management. This is distinct from the 24-hour requirement under the Data Privacy Protection Regulation.
• Mandatory Contract Terms and Subscriber Protections (Articles 6.4 and 7.3): Cloud contracts must cover a detailed list of prescribed elements—including data ownership, data portability on exit, breach protocols, and service availability guarantees—and providers cannot use ‘best endeavors’ clauses to limit their liability for intentional or grossly negligent acts.
• CITRA’s Broad Regulatory Authority (Articles 8.3, 9.1–9.2 and 11.2): CITRA retains sweeping powers to enforce the framework, impose penalties, issue binding guidelines and model contracts, set mandatory accreditation standards, and amend the framework without prior notice.

Human rights

There is no dedicated human rights legislation or constitutional provision specifically addressing AI or algorithmic decision-making. However, the Constitution of Kuwait of 1962, Kuwait’s supreme law on human rights, institutes various fundamental human rights that are closely intertwined with the utilisation of AI, including:

1. A right to a fair trial (Article 34), which can be construed to provide procedural safeguards for defendants in cases with an AI element; and
2. A right to privacy, including the confidentiality of communications (Article 39), which may be construed to limit certain AI applications involving surveillance or data processing.

In June 2024, Kuwait reaffirmed its commitment to human rights principles in the field of AI at the 23rd session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)’s Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) in Jeddah, where the Commission held a thematic debate on AI’s impact on human rights and adopted the Jeddah Declaration on AI governance and human rights protection. This conference emphasised the importance of respecting human rights and preserving human dignity in the context of AI developments.

Kuwait is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (‘ICCPR’). Relevant rights include: the right to a fair trial, to judicial independence, and to express one’s views and have them considered in legal proceedings (Article 14 ICCPR); the right to non-discrimination (Articles 4 and 14 ICCPR); and the right to privacy and information self-determination and data protection (Article 17 ICCPR).

Kuwait has also ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which contains relevant provisions, including:

• Article 40 – Juvenile justice: requires that a child alleged, accused of, or recognised as having infringed the penal law be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child’s sense of dignity and worth, reinforcing respect for the human rights of others, and taking into account the child’s age and the desirability of reintegration.
• Article 16 – Right to privacy: provides that no child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with their privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on their honour and reputation, and that the child has the right to the protection of the law against such interference.

Outlook

Bill to Establish the Public Authority for AI (PAAI) (December 2023)

In December 2023, the Bill to Establish the Public Authority for AI was submitted, which proposed the creation of the Public Authority for AI (‘PAAI’) as a legal entity under the supervision of a minister to be designated by the Council of Ministers. The proposed tasks of the PAAI would include: dealing with issues related to the organisation and development of AI; drafting and submitting the required legislation and regulations on AI; taking measures to organise the digitalisation of public institutions and assist the government in providing efficient digitalised governance; protecting official data; enhancing AI innovation and transforming Kuwait into a leading state in the AI field; preparing and conducting training programmes; attracting global researchers to participate in AI development in Kuwait; providing consultation services for public institutions; and raising public awareness about the importance of developing and investing in AI.

However, the Bill effectively lapsed upon the dissolution of the National Assembly on 10 May 2024 for a period of four years (Amiri Decree, Issue No. 1685). As at September 2026, the Assembly remains suspended, meaning that any new AI legislation, including measures addressing the use of AI in criminal proceedings, would require an Amiri decree rather than ordinary parliamentary legislation.

Kuwait’s National AI Strategy (2025–2028)

Published in early 2025, Kuwait’s National AI Strategy (2025-2028) provides a policy roadmap guiding the future of AI deployment, and forms part of the wider Kuwait Vision 2035 (‘New Kuwait’). As set out above, the strategy outlines a phased approach. It was developed building on an earlier Microsoft-authored ‘Kuwait National AI Strategy Framework’ whitepaper, which Microsoft describes as ‘a strategic guide for the Kuwaiti Government in shaping a robust and forward-thinking national AI strategy’. The strategy identifies ‘Public Safety and Justice’ as a priority sector.

CASES

As at September 2026, there have been no reported cases on the use or misuse of AI in Kuwait.