Iraq’s personal status law amendments to be enacted after supreme court dismisses lawsuit

MPs and activists say three laws were bundled together in a single round of voting without following proper procedure

Iraqi women demonstrate against underage marriage in Tahrir Square, Baghdad. Rights advocates are alarmed by a bill they fear will diminish women's rights. AFP

Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit to invalidate the passing of three bills wrapped into one package in the country's Parliament, including amendments to a Personal Status Law that critics say diminish women’s rights and permit underage marriage.

Along with the amendments to the family law sought by Shiites, Parliament last month approved a general amnesty law sought by Sunnis and a property restitution law aimed at returning land confiscated by Saddam Hussein in disputed areas to Kurdish and Turkmen owners.

The verdict read out by Chief Judge Jassim Mohammed Abood is final and cannot be appealed.

The MPs and activists who filed the lawsuit allege irregularities in the voting process, claiming Parliament did not announce the quorum and vote count, and it was not clear how many voted in favour as a number of politicians walked away while waiving their hands in objection to the process.

A video posted on social media by one MP showed chaos erupting after Speaker Mahmoud Al Mashhadani called on the house to approve the three bills together in a single vote, with some legislators leaving. He then immediately announced that the bills had been approved and left the chamber.

Last Tuesday, the Federal Supreme Court ordered the three laws to be temporarily suspended until the final ruling was issued. That move caused widespread outrage, mainly from Sunni political factions, whose members called for protests in their areas.

It also angered the country’s Supreme Judicial Council which issued a decree, saying laws enacted by Parliament cannot be suspended before they are officially published.

It recommended delaying any ruling on amendments to the Personal Status Law and the Property Restitution Law but emphasised that courts across the country must enforce the amended General Amnesty Law because it has been published. As a result, courts in several Iraqi provinces began implementing the revised piece of legislation.

The most contentious bill was for amendments to the 1959 Personal Status Law, which allows people to choose between religious or civil regulations in matters such as marriage, inheritance, divorce and child custody.

The Scientific Council in the Scholar Council of the Shiite Endowment Office will draw up a “code of Sharia rulings on personal status matters” and submit it to Parliament within four months, the amendments stipulate.

The amendments allow citizens to choose whether to be subject to the provisions of the current 1959 Personal Status Law or the provisions of the Shiite Jaafari Islamic school of jurisprudence. Sunni political parties will not submit their code of Sharia and will adhere to the current law.

In a significant concession, the backers kept the minimum age of marriage at 18 – the same as in the current law – although marriage at 15 will be allowed with certain conditions, including the approval of a judge and guardians. Previous proposals would have allowed girls as young as nine to be married.