Saad Al-Mutalibi, member of the State of Law Coalition: Our steps to resolve the issue of the federa

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[size=52]Saad Al-Mutalibi, member of the State of Law Coalition: Our steps to resolve the issue of the federal oil and gas law must be comprehensive[/size]

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2024-08-08
Saad Al-Mutalibi is a member of the State of Law Coalition and one of its prominent leaders. This coalition is an essential part of the State Administration Alliance to form the government of Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, and has an influential role in the Iraqi government and parliament. In our dialogue episode this time: “The Federal Oil and Gas Law.. Reading and Position”, he presented his opinions and viewpoints from the perspective of the parties in the State Administration Alliance, the “Shiite Coordination Framework” regarding the differences and tensions between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal government regarding the draft federal oil and gas law.[/size]
[size=45]At the beginning, he said: Thank you for inviting us to this frank dialogue. My greetings to the participating gentlemen. I would have liked to come to Erbil and participate with you directly if it were not for my commitments in Baghdad, which prevented me from attending. However, just seeing this elite group of figures, academics, and politicians gathered in this hall and holding a dialogue on this sensitive issue means to me that there is an important issue that brought us together, which is taking into account the higher interest and building Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]Regarding the issue of oil and gas, Article 111 of the Iraqi Constitution clearly states that “oil and gas belong to all the people of Iraq in all regions and governorates,” without specifically referring to a region or governorate. This means that the Iraqi Constitution did not discriminate between the people of Iraq and did not impose the dominance of any citizen over another. Although there are some problems in the Constitution, the Iraqi Constitution is generally considered a good constitution and we must all respect it.[/size]
[size=45]Here, when we talk about Article 112 of the Constitution, which states: “The federal government shall manage the oil and gas extracted from the current fields with the governments of the producing regions and governorates, provided that its revenues are distributed fairly in proportion to the population distribution throughout the country, with a specific share for a specific period for the affected regions that were unfairly deprived of them by the previous regime and which were subsequently harmed in a way that ensures balanced development for the various regions of the country, and this shall be regulated by law.” Without a doubt, the problem in interpreting this article is the definition of “existing and old wells.” It is clear and explicit that the old wells before 2005 were managed by the federal government, while the wells after 2005 are managed in partnership with the federal government and the oil-producing governorates.[/size]
[size=45]The problems facing the federal oil and gas law are the different interpretations of the constitutional articles by the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government. The federal oil and gas law must be able to reorganize the relationship between the region and the oil-producing provinces with the federal government. We will not issue a law for the region and another for the oil-producing provinces. Therefore, there must be one law that regulates all other issues.[/size]
[size=45]There is talk of an equal partnership between the region and the governorates, but we must also talk in this matter about the responsibility of everyone for the supreme interests of the country, and this means that the interests of the federal government cannot be placed above the local governments of the region and the governorates, just as the interests of the local governments cannot be placed above the interests of the federal government, and the interests must be interconnected and integrated so that all Iraqis can benefit from them.[/size]
[size=45]Regarding the export of Kurdistan’s oil, as the moderator of this dialogue pointed out, the Kurdistan Region exported oil without relying on any law, and exporting oil without a law is a violation of the constitution, but political matters sometimes require us to cooperate to find solutions, so in this context when we discuss the federal oil and gas law we must take two important points into consideration and protect them as well:[/size]
[size=45]First: The supreme interest of the federal state of Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]Second: The interest at the regional and governorate level.[/size]
[size=45]The largest oil source in Iraq is located in Basra Governorate, but as we can see there are no basic services in the governorate, and they live in a bad environment due to oil extraction. This bad environment has caused many problems “cultural, social, health, and others.” Therefore, when legislators want to make a law, they must take into account all aspects of citizens’ lives, and not discriminate against citizens from one region to another.[/size]
[size=45]Gentlemen, we live in a federal state, its problems are many and we need to discuss them and find solutions for them. If we refer to the American federal system, which they describe as a successful system, and for the sake of this success, the Americans amended the constitution 27 times to solve the problems of their society, but the door to amending the Iraqi constitution is closed and no one can talk about amending it, so the law we are discussing must go beyond the framework of the constitution, which we cannot amend, and the law that will be issued must not discriminate between one party and another, and must be a framework in which citizens enjoy equal rights, equal in their will, so the federal oil and gas law in particular must be within the framework of a deal and for example “powers, the commitment of the region and governorates with the federal government to implement the constitution, which means what is stipulated in Article 110 of the constitution: “The federal authorities have the following exclusive powers: formulating foreign policy, diplomatic representation, negotiating international treaties and agreements, borrowing policies, signing and concluding them, and formulating sovereign foreign economic and trade policy.” All of these matters should be within the limited powers of the federal government, but what is stated in the constitutional article in the Kurdistan Region is outside the powers of the federal government.[/size]
[size=45]The State Administration Alliance, which now represents all the people of Iraq, believes that all political parties and different components in Iraq must reach a political agreement to manage the country and unify efforts to find solutions to the existing problems in Iraqi society, whether the problems are economic or political. We must find solutions for them, but these solutions require frank dialogue with each other. For example, we as a federal government have some criticisms from the Kurdistan Regional Government, and the Kurdistan Region must be prepared to listen to the criticisms and try to correct them together. If we look at the exclusive powers of the federal government stated in Article 110 of the Constitution, we see that the Kurdistan Region has exceeded the limits of its powers. For example, the article states “setting and implementing a national security policy.” Therefore, the national security policy and its implementation are within the powers of the federal government, but we see that the region has exceeded that and concluded several agreements on arms and security issues with Germany and other countries without the approval of the federal government. It has also signed many trade and diplomatic agreements that are also an infringement of the powers of the federal government.[/size]
[size=45]My frankness is for the sake of diagnosing wounds and making efforts to solve problems and correct shortcomings. We find this solution when we look at all problems from a comprehensive perspective and find solutions for them through the application of the constitution and within its framework. This means that our steps to solve the issue of the federal oil and gas law must be comprehensive. It means what the constitution imposes on all of us and how it should be implemented.[/size]
[size=45]There is currently a political agreement on issues within the framework of state administration, as well as agreements between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government, but we must return to the constitution, because these “political and governmental” agreements ultimately require the approval of the Iraqi parliament, and therefore the parliamentary blocs will not vote on it except within a constitutional framework.[/size]
[size=45]The State Administration Alliance currently supports the government, and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani is keen to find solutions to all problems, but these solutions will not find their way without the approval of the Iraqi Council of Representatives. It is true that the Iraqi Parliament approved the political paper called the ministerial program, but this program includes general principles that have been agreed upon, but when we delve into the details of these political agreements, and delve into the laws and their details, here the problems appear and the articles of this law are discussed in Parliament, and this requires a vote by the representatives, so it is very important that we gain the confidence of Parliament regarding the political paper that we signed, but after that the second stage begins, which is the political agreement on a specific law with the text and articles of the Federal Oil and Gas Law, and unfortunately we have not yet reached that political agreement.[/size]
[size=45]Finally, I would like to point out that in my speech I made some strong criticisms of the Kurdistan Region, and this is our point of view and we see it as I interpret it. I hope that you will not take my criticisms as if I want to accuse the Kurdistan Region, but now there is a negative atmosphere between the two sides. We are talking very seriously to unify efforts to resolve the issues, and if this is the goal of the two parties, there is no other way to get closer and find solutions to all the problems except through frank dialogue with each other.[/size]
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