Lawmaker calls for 'Kuwaitising' judiciary

Cairo: A Kuwaiti lawmaker has demanded foreigners in the country's judicial authority be replaced with nationals, the latest in growing calls for limiting the numbers of migrant workers in Kuwait.

"Replacement should start at the top of the pyramid. Kuwaitising the judicial authority is a must," MP Khaled Al Uteibi said, according to Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai.

He linked the judiciary's independence to fully Kuwaitise the institution. "If the government wants to cooperate with the assembly [parliament] on the file of replacements, it has to start with the top of the pyramid and be committed to not employing non-Kuwaitis in the judicial authority," he added.

The numbers of non-Kuwaitis in the country's judicial community is not clear.

Foreign workers make up 3.3 million of Kuwait’s 4.6 million population.

Several Kuwaiti public figures, including lawmakers, have recently pushed for redrawing the demographic imbalance, accusing expatriates of straining the country’s health facilities and compounding the COVID-19 threat.