Labour Court declines to hear Fozia Rafiq’s appeal against Kuwait

The Labour Court declined to hear Ms Fozia Rafiq’s appeal against the State Of Kuwait, ruling on sovereign-immunity grounds that it lacked jurisdiction. Its determination, signed on 15 August 2023, said her work as an accountant in the State’s Cultural Office was closely connected to its education policy; the merits of her fixed-term work appeal were not decided. Rafiq had challenged the termination of her one-year fixed-term contract, saying it was incompatible with due process and fair procedures. The State Of Kuwait argued sovereign immunity applied. The Court accepted that argument after finding Rafiq’s role was intimately connected to the State’s third-level education policy.