THE LEGALITY AND EQUITY OF PRE-DISPUTE MANDATORY ARBITRATION CLAUSES IN THE CREDIT CARD CONTRACTS UNDER THE CURRENT KUWAITI ARBITRATION LAW: A COMPARATIVE ANALYTICAL STUDY
Main Article Content
Abstract
While the enforceability of arbitration clauses in consumer contracts, notably credit card contracts, has been well developed in some jurisdictions like the United States and the Czech Republic, the issue has not yet arisen in Kuwait, largely because the development of the credit card sector is relatively new, but, more importantly, because the arbitration system has generally been limited in practice to specific contexts that have not yet included consumer disputes in relation to credit cards. This article examines both the likelihood that Kuwaiti financial institutions will adopt pre-dispute mandatory arbitration clauses in credit card agreements in the near future, and the likelihood that those clauses, often significantly unfair to consumers, will be enforced under current Kuwaiti laws. It proposes amendments to relevant Kuwaiti legislation to mitigate the harshness of the enforcement of these clauses in the consumer credit card context and to provide greater balance between the interests of card issuers and cardholders.
Article Details
Copyright and originality of the offered manuscript
1. It is assumed that the manuscript offered has not been previously published. It is expected that the authors will inform the editorial board of TLQ if the entire manuscript, its parts or some relevant results have been previously published in a different publication at the level of an article in a reviewed scientific magazine or monograph. Should the editorial board of TLQ conclude that this condition was not fulfilled the review process may be terminated.
2. It is assumed that the submitted manuscript is an original academic work. If that is not the case the author needs to provide information regarding all circumstances that could raise doubts whether the manuscript is the outcome of original research.
3. By submitting the manuscript the author acknowledges that after the publication in The Lawyer Quarterly her/his work will be made available online to the Internet users and also kept by the Library of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Author's rights to further use the work remain unabridged.