Law on Statistics and Census

 Article I:

 There shall be established an Office for Census and Statistics called The Central Statistical Office to be annexed to the Planning Board. This Office is to be the sole official statistical reference in The State of Kuwait. .

Article II:

 
The Central Statistical Office shall have a Director who shall be appointed by a decree upon the nomination of the Planning Bord.The CSO. Shall be organized by a resolution to be issued by the Planning Board specifying its divisions and how it is going to work, its rela-tionship with its employees and their salaries and increments.

 The Minister of Planning shall, with regard to the employees of the Office, have the same competence a minister has with regard to the employees of his Ministry.

     The last paragraph was amended by Law  NO. 63 of 1976 dated 11/9/1976 and the competence had been conferred, prior to the amendment, on the Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs.

Article III:
 
     The Central Statistical Office shall perform the following::
  1.  The General Census of Population and  Dwellings once every ten years at most, upon a Resolution to be issued by the Planning Board.
  2.  Collection of statistical information in all the fields which the Resolutions of the Planning Board specify.
  3. Collection of statistical information on employees in both government and private sectors.The Ministry of Defense shall be exempted from providing the statistical information  which the Supreme Defense Council considers confidential.
  4.   Supervision of the statistical works performed by the concerned departments in all ministries, organizations, institutions, and companies which the government subscribes to its capital.. and coordination of their statistical works. Every ministry or governmental organization or institution shall establish a statistical section.
  5. Unification, coordination and analysis of the statistical information and dissemination of statistical data and studies through the various information media so as to achieve the social and economic objectives of development withoutcompromising any private individual information.

Article IV:

 Ministries and Government Departments and Public Organizations shall co-operate with the Central Statistical Office in completing the Statistics and Census in the best way and shall provide all the information which it requires and follow its technical instructions.

Article V:

        The security authorities shall, whenever required, assist the entrusted with the Census or  Statistics in fulfilling their task.

Article VI:

        The      individuals,    companies,     private associations and institutions and owners of public, vocational, professional, commercial and industrial establishments must submit to the Central Statistical Office or its designated officials,  all the information requried for Statistics  or Cencus in the dates specified for that job.The   President of the Planning Board shall issue the resolutions necessary for that.  .

Article VII:

          All individual information related to the Statistics or Census shall be confidential and shall not, without the consent of the person concerned, be published nor disclosed to a third party whether it is a person or a public or private organization. This information shall not be used, except for statistical purposes.

Article VIII:

    Statistical information shall not be used as a basis for any financial burden. It is not to be taken as  evidence in a crime or a basis for any legal action or procedure but it may be used as  evidence against that who gives false information.

Article IX:

        The Central Statistical Office shall prepare an annual comprehensive guide for all the statistical information and bulletins it has acquired. The Office has the right to publish this infotmation in periodical Bulletins or annual reports in a general but not individual manner.

Article X:

     Whoever violates the statistical information  by disclosing any personal information or  industrial secret or any other secret which he has become aware of in the course of performing any of the actions of the Census or Statistics in accordance with this law shall without prejudice to any other stronger punishment specified for in another law be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years and by affine not exceeding 1500 Kuwaiti Dinars or by any of the two penalties.

Article XI:

  Without prejudice to any stronger punishment specified for in any other law he shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months and by a fine not exceeding KD 100 or by any of the two  of the two penalties :

A - Who intentionally obstructs any of the works related to the Census or Statistics decided to be carried out.

B - Who refuses to give the required information or knowingly gives false information. Whoever does not give the required information within the specified time shall be considered to have refused to give it unless he proves that the delay is due to an acceptable reason.

C - Who has illicitly obtained or attempts to obtain confidential information related to Census or Statistics. 

D - Who conducts Census or obtains Statistics or participates in that in a manner different from that specified by the law.

E - Who knowingly publishes or causes to publish false statistics or censuses.

    The infringements shall be proved by the officials appointed by Resolution issued by the President of the Planning Board. In this regard they act in a prosecutorial capacity .

Article XII:

     The President of the Planning Board shall issue the regulations and resolutions needed for the execution of this Act.

Article XIII:
 
 The law No. 13 of 1961 on Statistics and Census shall be repealed.
Article XIV:

    This act shall be executed by the Prime Minister and the Ministers each in the area of his concern and shall be effective on the date of  publication in the official gazette. 

AMIR OF STATE OF KUWAIT

ABDULLAH  AL SALM  AL-SABAH

THE PRIME MINISTER

 SABA H AL-SALM  AL-SABAH

ISSUED ON 19 RAJAB 1383

5 DECEMBER 1963