Air freight, road haulage, warehousing and forwarding contracts in Kuwait are governed by several layers of law at once, and the layers changed recently. A new Civil Aviation Law, Decree-Law 85 of 2025, took effect on 3 February 2026 and moved regulation from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to a new Public Authority for Civil Aviation. The Commercial Code, Decree-Law 68 of 1980, still supplies the general carriage rules for goods and passengers. The Montreal Convention of 1999 applies to international air carriage. This article sets out how our Kuwait office reads these sources when it drafts or reviews an aviation or logistics contract, and which points need a fresh check against the current text.
The legal framework: three layers that must be read together
The first layer is the Civil Aviation Law issued by Decree-Law 85 of 2025 on 28 July 2025, which came into force six months after publication, on 3 February 2026. It consolidates earlier legislation, including the Air Navigation Regulations of Law 30 of 1960 and the Aircraft Accidents Law, Law 37 of 1960, which it lists in its preamble. Article 4 of the law makes the Chicago Convention, its annexes and other international and regional conventions issued under the International Civil Aviation Organization that Kuwait has joined a complementary part of the law.
The second layer is the Commercial Code. Its chapter on carriage covers the contract of carriage of goods and persons, the commission agent for transport and, in a separate section starting at Article 205, air carriage. The third layer is the contract itself, which can allocate risk, set limits and choose forum within the boundaries these laws leave open.
The regulator: the Public Authority for Civil Aviation replaces the DGCA
Article 2 of the issuing decree-law replaces the Directorate General of Civil Aviation with the Public Authority for Civil Aviation, known as PACA. The Authority takes over the rights, obligations, assets and staff of the old Directorate, and it keeps the powers the earlier laws gave the Directorate.
The law also sets the licensing rules that matter to a commercial counterparty. Article 41 provides that no air activity may be carried on in Kuwait without a license from the Authority, and Article 50 provides that a national operator may not carry out commercial air transport without an air operator certificate issued by the Authority. A cargo contract should therefore confirm the carrier certificate, and should separately plan for customs clearance. The executive regulations were due within one year of the law taking effect, and existing operators must adjust their position within a year of their issue under Article 4 of the issuing decree-law, so we check their status in each file.
International air carriage: the Montreal Convention 1999 and Article 53
According to the list of parties kept by the International Civil Aviation Organization, Kuwait signed the Montreal Convention on 28 May 1999, deposited its instrument on 11 June 2002, and the Convention entered into force for Kuwait on 4 November 2003.
Article 53 of the new law confirms this approach. It says that when an air carrier is liable for damage to passengers, baggage and cargo, the Authority applies the Montreal Convention of 1999, its amending protocols and the other agreements Kuwait has joined or will join. For a commercial counterparty this means that the Convention rules on the air waybill, the carrier defenses and the monetary limits on cargo liability sit above any conflicting clause in a Kuwait-law contract for an international flight. Our Kuwait office checks the current limits in the Convention at the date of each file.
Domestic and special air carriage rules in the Commercial Code
For air carriage that falls outside the Convention, the Commercial Code has its own rules. Article 205 defines air carriage as the carriage of persons, baggage or goods by aircraft for payment. Article 207 requires the air transport document to state that the carriage follows the limited liability rules in the Code, and without that statement the carrier cannot rely on them. Article 209 makes the carrier liable for loss, destruction or damage to baggage and goods if the event happened during the air carriage, and Article 210 extends liability to damage caused by delay.
Article 211 frees the carrier if it proves that it and its agents took every measure needed to avoid the damage, or that taking the measures was impossible. Article 212 frees the carrier if the whole damage was caused by the fault of the injured party, and the court may reduce liability for partial fault. Article 209 also treats a surface transfer made at an airport, for loading, delivery or transshipment, as part of the air carriage unless proven otherwise.
The Aviation Compensation Board for passenger claims
Article 53 of the Civil Aviation Law also creates one or more compensation boards inside the Authority. Each board has three members: a judge nominated by the Supreme Judicial Council as chair and two representatives of the Authority, serving three-year renewable terms. The board hears passenger complaints about damage resulting from the liability of the air carrier, and it can order the carrier to pay compensation under the rules of the Montreal Convention.
A passenger or an air carrier may challenge a board decision by a petition filed with the competent court within ten days from learning of the decision. The court clerk sets a hearing within a week, and the court decision cannot be appealed. The text gives the board jurisdiction over passenger complaints, so we read cargo claims as remaining with the ordinary courts and the contract dispute clause, and we advise cargo clients on that basis.
Carriage of goods by road: the contract of carriage in Articles 161 to 187
The Commercial Code treats carriage as a consensual contract. Article 161 provides that the contract is complete on agreement, and that it can be proved by all means of evidence. Article 165 requires the carrier, if no transport document is issued, to give the consignor on request a signed dated receipt that identifies the goods and the freight. Article 166 requires the consignor to deliver the goods and, where their nature demands it, to pack them so that they are protected from loss and damage. Article 167 makes the consignor liable for freight unless the parties agree that the consignee pays, in which case both are jointly liable, and Article 170 binds the consignee to the contract once it accepts it expressly or by conduct.
The carrier carries the main risk. Article 173 provides that the carrier guarantees the safety of the goods during carriage and is liable for total or partial loss, damage and delay. Under Article 180 the carrier can escape liability only by proving force majeure, an inherent defect in the goods, or fault of the consignor or consignee. Article 174 limits liability for money, securities and valuables to the written declaration given on delivery, and Article 176 measures compensation by the real value at destination on the day fixed for delivery, using the market price.
Notice, time bars and exclusion clauses in a carriage claim
Two deadlines catch many claimants. Under Article 178, delivery without reservation removes the right to claim against the carrier for damage, partial loss or delay, unless the consignee proves the state of the goods and sues the carrier within thirty days of delivery. The state of the goods is proved through the administrative authorities or an expert appointed by the summary judge. Article 162 adds a one-year limitation period for every claim arising from a contract of carriage of goods or persons, or a transport commission contract. For total loss it runs from the day delivery was due, and for delay, damage or partial loss from the day of delivery or from the day the goods were placed at the consignee's disposal.
Article 162 also says that a party guilty of intentional or gross fault cannot rely on the limitation period, and that any agreement against these rules is void. On exclusion clauses, Article 181 voids any term that excludes the carrier's liability for loss or damage, but Article 182 allows a written term that limits liability for loss and damage, or excludes liability for delay, if the carrier told the consignor and was not guilty of intentional or gross fault, and the limit is not a token amount. Where successive carriers perform one carriage, Article 179 makes the first carrier responsible for the whole carriage toward consignor and consignee.
Freight forwarders and the commission agent for transport
Forwarding arrangements fall under the commission agency for transport in Articles 197 to 203 of the Commercial Code. Article 197 defines the contract as one in which the agent contracts, in its own name or the name of the principal, with a carrier for a commission. Article 198 obliges the agent to protect the principal's interests and follow its instructions, in particular on the choice of carrier. Under Article 199 the agent guarantees the safety of the goods and, for goods, is liable from receipt for loss, damage and delay unless it proves force majeure, an inherent defect, or the fault of the principal or consignee.
Article 201 lets the principal sue the carrier directly, and in that case the agent must be joined to the case. Article 200 allows the agent to exclude or limit liability for goods in writing, if the principal was informed and the agent or the carrier was not guilty of intentional or gross fault.
Warehousing and logistics businesses: licensing through the Ministry of Commerce
A warehousing or logistics business in Kuwait needs a commercial license for its activity. The general framework is Law 111 of 2013 on the licensing of business concerns, applied through the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, whose license services are available online.
We have not found a published article that sets a separate national license for warehouse operators in the sources we reviewed, and some activities depend on other bodies, for example customs, the municipality and the fire service. For that reason our Kuwait office does not state a specific license category in a draft until it has checked the current requirement with the relevant authority. A logistics contract should in any case require the operator to hold and show a valid license, give notice of any suspension, and indemnify the client for loss caused by operating without one.
Drafting points: risk, valuation, insurance and delivery terms
The contract should answer the questions that the statutory rules leave to the parties. It should state who bears risk at each hand-over, how the value of the cargo is declared, and what limit applies. For sales of goods that move by sea, the Commercial Code sets default rules in Articles 131 to 147, and Article 145 requires a CIF seller to insure the goods for the price plus ten percent. Article 160 deals with contracts where the seller bears the risk after shipment or performance depends on arrival, and a contract using such terms should say clearly where risk passes.
Article 162 allows one year for carriage claims and voids agreements to change it, so the contract should not promise a longer period, and each party should set internal deadlines well inside one year.
Aircraft financing, registration and liens under the new law
The new law matters to lessors and financiers. Article 42 creates a register at the Authority in which every legal act concerning a Kuwait civil aircraft is recorded. No act on the aircraft has effect between the parties or against third parties until it is recorded, and the operator remains responsible for the operation of the aircraft. Registration of a Kuwait aircraft in another state needs the approval of the Authority and deregistration from the Kuwait register.
Article 43 sets the aircraft liens, which are paid from the sale price ahead of other debts, even privileged or mortgage-secured debts, except court costs. They include debts owed to the Authority and government bodies, salvage and extraordinary preservation costs, compensation for damage caused to third parties in Kuwait, and debts from the last flight before a forced sale, such as repair, maintenance, handling and fuel. Article 54 applies the Rome Convention of 1952 to the operator's liability for damage on the ground.
How our Kuwait office reviews an aviation or logistics contract
Our Kuwait office reviews the contract in a fixed order: the parties and their licenses, the type of carriage, the governing convention or Code articles, the allocation of risk, the limits and exclusions, the time bars, the insurance and the dispute clause. We test each clause against the current text of Decree-Law 85 of 2025, the Commercial Code articles cited above and the Convention, and we flag any provision that depends on executive regulations that may have been issued since our last check.
See also: our Kuwait M&A due diligence guide and our Kuwait compliance and regulatory guide, plus our commercial and corporate practice.
Frequently asked questions
Which law governs a lost air cargo shipment from Kuwait?
For international carriage the Montreal Convention 1999 applies, and Article 53 of Decree-Law 85 of 2025 refers to it, while the Commercial Code Articles 205 to 212 cover air carriage outside the Convention. The air waybill and the contract decide which rules and limits apply.
Who regulates aviation in Kuwait now?
The Public Authority for Civil Aviation took the place of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation under Article 2 of the issuing decree-law, and the Civil Aviation Law has applied since 3 February 2026. Older contracts that name the DGCA should be updated.
How long do I have to sue a road carrier for damaged goods?
Article 162 of the Commercial Code sets one year, and Article 178 requires a claim within thirty days if the goods were received without reservation. Both periods are strict, and the one-year period cannot be extended by agreement.
Can a carrier limit its liability by contract?
Under Article 182 of the Commercial Code a carrier can limit liability for loss and damage, or exclude liability for delay, by a written term that it communicated to the consignor, but not for intentional or gross fault. Article 181 voids a full exclusion for loss or damage.
Is a freight forwarder liable for cargo damage?
Under Article 199 of the Commercial Code a commission agent for transport guarantees the safety of the goods from receipt and is liable for loss, damage and delay unless it proves force majeure, an inherent defect or the fault of the principal or consignee. A written exclusion under Article 200 may apply.
Do passengers go to court or to the compensation board?
Article 53 of Decree-Law 85 of 2025 creates compensation boards in the Authority for passenger complaints, with a challenge to the court within ten days. Cargo claims are not covered by that text as we read it.
Do I need a license to run a warehouse in Kuwait?
A commercial license for the activity is required under the business licensing framework of Law 111 of 2013, and other bodies may have separate requirements. Our Kuwait office confirms the current rules for each site before advising.
How can I get advice on an aviation or logistics contract in Kuwait?
Please contact our team through the contact page with the contract, the transport documents and a short summary of the dispute or plan. Our Kuwait office will review the licensing, risk and time limit points and tell you what to do first.