Business activities in Kuwait may be grouped into three sectors: the Public sector, the Banking & Finance sector and the Private sector.

This sector comprises Ministries, Public Authorities and Institutes which run the Government's affairs. The Ministries are :

• Ministry of Awqaf & Islamic Affairs l Ministry of Information

• Ministry of Commerce & Industry l Ministry of Interior

• Ministry of Communication l Ministry of Justice

• Ministry of Defence l Ministry of Oil

• Ministry of Education l Ministry of Planning

• Ministry of Electricity & Water l Ministry of Public Health

• Ministry of External Affairs l Ministry of Public Works

• Ministry of Finance & Economy l Ministry of Social Affairs & Labour

• Ministry of Housing l Municipality

The most important institutions from the public sectors are :

The largest allocation of funds in the public sector is a budget of KD 3.5 billion ($10 billion) to be spent in the country's defence forces. In the past the Air Force had taken delivery of 40 McDonnel Douglas F/A-18's, an Early Warning Radar System from Hughes Aircraft Company is installed and letters of agreement are reported to having been placed for 256 MI-A2 tanks from General

Dynamics, 250 Warrior combat vehicles from GKN Defence and several fast patrol boats for the Kuwaiti Navy. It is also the MOD that will spearhead the decisions on the United Gulf Army;

an ambitious program by the GCC states to form a 25,000 strong army based in Saudi Arabia armed with the most sophisticated weaponry to protect the borders from any aggression.

The following is the recognised method at this time :

1. Contact the Kuwait Embassy or Consulate in the country.

2. They will require full information on the product or service you wish to offer with brochures, etc. Do not provide any pricing structure at this time.

3. Through the Embassy channels, this will be forwarded to the Ministry of Defence - Under Secretary's office, Kuwait.

4. From there, it will be passed to a recently reorganised department under "Director of Purchasing & Contracting".

5. Within this department, the product / service will be assessed and passed on to the applicable force, i.e. Army, Navy, Air Force, etc.

6. The force concerned will pass it on the unit, department, regiment, etc. that has that particular requirement where it will be evaluated and reported on.

7. If the product/service is one they are interested in, the company will be contacted for further information and possibly a price indication.

8. This could culminate in the company or its representative being requested to provide sample and demonstration within Kuwait or to arrange for a visit to the country.

9. Ministry of Defence will provide the entry visas for personnel (of those countries not listed among the 40 countries) travelling to Kuwait when on official business.

10. At this point, a Kuwait contact would be helpful to assist in various arrangements, transport and accommodation can prove to be an expensive outlay if care is not taken.

• Do liaise with your agent when wanting to visit the country.

• Do request your agent to set up meetings with the individual departments you wish to deal with.

• Do inform your agent of any changes to your product or contractual details.

• Do ensure that your agent is kept fully aware of delivery details, send him all copies of the Airway Bills (AWB) and Bills of Lading.

• Do expect to extend your visit as appointments are often changed.

• Don't come to Kuwait unannounced.

• Don't attempt to contact the Ministry of Interior or any one of the department heads without the agent's knowledge

• Don't try to do business through a third party once you have set up documentation of registration. Your agent is exclusive within the Ministry of Interior and his name is on the file.

• Don't deliver late.

• Don't expect quick responses from the Ministry of Interior.

• Don't include invoices with the delivered goods.

The Job Contract

A job contract is an obligation where one party, the contractor, is obliged to do work or service for another party, the owner against a certain sum of money, without the contract being the subject of the owner or his legal representative.

Civil law consists of rules concerning the following topics:

• Supply of material by owner.

• Obligation of contractor.

• Obligation of owner.

• Relinquishing the contract or sub-cobtract.

• Termination of contract.

A job contract may stipulate that the owner supplies all or part of the materials, in such a case the contractor will provide tools and workmanship to fulfill his obligations, and whatever material he is bound contractually to supply.

But if the contractor were to provide material in addition to workmanship, then the contractor must abide by the specifications of the material, or if no specifications are provided to the contractor, then the contractor must choose material that did the job well with full responsibility for material defects.

If the owner provides all the materials needed for work, then the contractor is obliged to handle the material carefully, and use them in accordance with the best available working knowledge, presenting to the owner, reports on the quality and quantity used for work; and he should exert responsible effort to minimize wastage. The contractor shall be responsible for any material damaged, or lost, or waste, caused from undue care from his part.

It happens sometimes that material provided by the owner are deficient and of inferior quality, which could detrimentally affect the quality of wokmanship; in such case the contractor must immediately notify the owner in writing describing how it can affect the workmanship and the appearance of the finished work.

If the contractor does not inform the owner about the defects of materials provided, then he shall be held liable to the owner regarding the quality of work done, and compensation may be required from him. The contractor must inform the owner about any delays in executing the work; otherwise he bears full responsibility for all delays whoever causes them.

The contractor is obligated to execute the work indicated in the contract in the agreed upon time; but if no period of time for completion of work is stipulated in the contract, then he must finish the work within a reasonable time as accepted by customary practice in the profession.

In case the contract does not specify certain conditions for the contractor, or owner to abide by, then the normal practice of the profession will be applied. The contract is bound by agreement to supply all the laborers, tools and equipment needed to execute the job regardless of who supplies the material.

The contractor is supposed to execute the work free from any defects. If his work is defective the owner must notify the contractor of the defects, and request that the contractor should make amendment in the specified time frame. But if the contractor does not do the necessary repairs, then the owner can resort to court, and demand abrogation of contract and permission to enter into contract with another able contractor at the expense of the first contractor. It is worthy to note that the owner can demand termination of the contract with an incompetent contractor who commits mistake causing major irreparable defects, without prior notification.

In all cases the judge has the right to not terminate the contract if he finds the defects repairable and do not undervalue the total work; nonetheless suitable compensation to owner must be shouldered by the contractor.

The owner has the right to demand termination of the contract before the work starts, or while the contractor is doing the work, if the contractor excessively delays the start of work, or shows inability to execute the work to their completion.

If the work under contract is perished, for whatever reason, while still in custody of the contractor, then the contractor bears full responsibility, and cannot demand compensation unless the owner has breached the contract regarding handling over of works to him.

If the owner supplies the material and subject of contract (work to be done) came to be perished for unforeseeable reasons, or due to an accident or force majeure while in the custody of the contractor, and before the contractor hands the work to the owner, then the owner can sue only if the contractor has breached the contract terms regarding handling over of works.

The owner is obligated to perform his part of the contract, and if he breaches or is unable to perform his part of the contract, the contractor must notify him in writing and give him a period of time during which the owner must resume his performance of the contract, otherwise the contractor has the right to file for abrogation of contract with due compensation.

If the contractor has accomplished his obligation in the contract and notified the owner to receive the work, subject of contract, but the owner overlooked the notification of contractor without a legitimate reason, then the work is considered legally handed over to the owner.

The owner is responsible for the effects of incorrect instruction given to the contractor during execution of work and thus cannot claim compensation for defects resulting from his wrong instructions. Any hidden defects discovered after handing over of works and during the maintenance period, the owner, upon discovery, must immediately notify the contractor and ask to repair the defects, and demand compensation if need be, otherwise the work is considered as legally handed over free from any defects.

After handing over of work, the contractor has the right to collect his payment, unless the contract dictates a different process of final payment. But if the work subject of agreement, consists of parts, or the basis of payments was on units of work done, then the contractor can claim his money for each part or unit done and accepted by owner.

The price fixed in contract will remain binding to both parties for the duration of contract unless unforeseen circumstances during execution of work makes it extremely burdensome to one to continue in accordance with terms agreed upon, in which case resorting to court will fairly adjust the terms and conditions for the affected party.

This requires consent of both parties, or an express stipulation in the contract. The new contractor taking the place of the withdrawn party assumes all rights, duties and obligation of the latter.

For relinquishing the contract for whatever reason, the withdrawing party must officially inform the owner in writing so that his withdrawal from obligations will be effected vis-a-vis others.

The contractor has the right to subcontract parts of the work stipulated in the contract to others, if it is allowed, or not objected to in the contract, or if the reputation of the contractor himself is not considered essential to the contractual relations with the owner. Subcontracting does not affect the the contractual relation between the main contractor and the owner. The main contractor must pay his workers' and subcontractors' dues, otherwise they can claim their dues directly from the owner, who in turn will subtract their dues from the main contractor's dues. Workers and subcontractors have legal priority to the contractors money.

Workers of subcontractors can also claim their dues from the main contractor or owner if the subcontractors do not pay them. They can claim their dues within the amount of money the main contractor owes the subcontractors.

If the contractor stipulates the maintenance period, then the contract is considered accomplished after handing over and the lapse of the maintenance period.

A contract is considered legally terminated if it becomes practically impossible to continue the works, because of force majeure, or unforeseen circumstances. In such event the owner should pay the contractor due amount of what he benefited from.

Also the contract can be terminated if the contractor of reputable position dies without his successors offering appropriate guarantee to finish the work when the contract is terminated, in such case the owner must pay the dues of the contractor for whatever work he did, and whatever material he supplied, and hand over the contractor's tools and equipment to his inheritors. This also applies if the contract is terminated for reasons not related to contractor.

In all circumstances, and at any time, the owner has the right to terminate the contract provided he compensates the contractor for what expenses the contractor paid, and the possible gain he may have made had he performed the contract to its completion.

If the construction contract is concluded between two parties based on a rough estimate of quantity, and during the course of executing the construction, the contractor finds that the real quantity far exceed what was initially estimated, then he should immediately and formally notify the owner about the increase in the quantity and its monetary value, otherwise the contractor will lose his rights to claim compensation of the extra quantity, and the owner has the choice either to amend the contract to change the quantity differential clause or terminate the contract and give the contractor his dues for work done. If the contract is on a lump sum basis and in accordance with a set design, drawings and other specifications, then any changes in design executed on site without the express approval of owner, or his representative, are the sole responsibility of the contractor. But if the owner demands the change to design or specification and thus changes in execution of work, then the owner must pay for them.

If the building, subject of agreement, has grave defects that cause excessive damage and loss to owner, then the owner has the right to decrease the dues of the contractor commensurate with the defects, and suitable to the satisfaction of owner, or he can ask the contractor to repair the defects and still claim appropriate compensation from the contractor.

The contractor and the designing engineer are held jointly accountable to owner in the construction that leads to partial or total collapse of structure. The law forces them to guarantee the building to stand for ten years after completion. If the building was a temporary structure meant to last for less than ten years, then that period holds as the period the structure is guaranteed not to collapse.

This guarantee to have a standing structure for ten years free from defects that jeopardize its safety, is applied also if the land plot on which the structure is built is defective, and holds even the owner who, knowing of the defects in the building design, land plot, and construction, gives permission to the contractor to construct the defective building.

The designing engineer is responsible for errors in design that cause defects, but is not responsible for defects resulting from execution of work unless he supervises the work. The contractor is responsible for all visible and hidden defects resulting from his work. He is also responsible for visible defective work resulting from design. He is also jointly responsible, with the designing engineer, for all visible defects resulting from faulty design, and for all defects whether in design or execution of work if he were responsible or in charge to design and build the structure.