KUWAIT: National
Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem said yesterday the Assembly will debate the
constitutional court's verdict and the report on the grilling of the prime
minister on Jan 8 and not tomorrow because the issues have not yet been
finalized. Ghanem told reporters that the Assembly received a copy of the
constitutional court ruling declaring article 16 of the internal charter
unconstitutional and the Assembly office yesterday discussed the issue.

He said that the
office decided to wait until the court issues its final verdict on this issue
on Dec 26 and then discuss all the verdicts together. He added that the legal
and legislative committee has not yet completed its report on whether a
grilling against the prime minister is in line with the constitution or not.
Ghanem also said that the financial and economic affairs committee has not
completed amendments to the early retirement law, and accordingly it will be
delayed until Jan 8.

The constitutional
court last week ruled that article 16 of the Assembly's internal charter is
unconstitutional, which means it has to be replaced. The Assembly in October
depended on the article to retain the memberships of MPs Waleed Al-Tabtabaei
and Jamaan Al-Harbash after they were sentenced to jail in a final ruling by
the court of cassation. The court said that the Assembly's vote on the issue
infringed on the authority of the judiciary and the court itself.

Seven lawmakers
met to discuss the issue yesterday and to call for delaying any debate on the
issue or delaying taking any measure as a result of the ruling. Islamist
opposition MP Mohammad Al-Dallal yesterday called on the Assembly to take its
time before adopting any decision or action on the constitutional court ruling,
saying the verdict has created a constitutional vacuum. He said the court has
surpassed its powers and has taken some of the Assembly's powers through this
ruling, which he said was issued in a rush.

Dallal said that
based on the ruling, the Assembly is obliged to consider the membership of any
MP as illegal if they receive any ruling in a criminal case. But MP Ahmad
Al-Fadhl charged that some quarters are taking the Assembly into uncharted
waters by trying to provide strange interpretations of the ruling and called
for applying it quickly.

MP Saleh Ashour
meanwhile threatened yesterday to grill Minister of Social Affairs and Labor
Hind Al-Sabeeh over not receiving proper answers to his questions from her and
other ministers. Ashour said he grilled Sabeeh in May over her decision to
dissolve a Shiite society of which he is the chairman. After the grilling,
which the minister survived, Ashour said he sent questions on the issue to
Sabeeh and several other ministers. He said he did not receive answers from
other ministers and an incomplete reply from Sabeeh. He said he will grill
Sabeeh if he does not get the answers.

By B Izzak