The judiciary settles the controversy over the “controversial paragraphs” in the amendment to the Pe

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[size=52]The judiciary settles the controversy over the “controversial paragraphs” in the amendment to the Personal Status Law[/size]

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2024-09-22
Baghdad
Political and local circles continue to debate and divide over passing amendments to the Personal Status Law, which has drawn Iraqis into a conflict that has acquired a sectarian character. However, in a new development, the Supreme Judicial Council has settled the controversy over underage marriage, child custody, and inheritance in amending the Personal Status Law.[/size]
[size=45]The Council said in a statement that “on Sunday, September 22, 2024, the Supreme Judicial Council hosted a meeting to discuss the draft amendment to Personal Status Law No. (188) of 1959, as amended,” noting that “the articles of the aforementioned draft law were reviewed during the meeting.”[/size]
[size=45]“It is clear from the inaccuracy of the media statements that summarize the draft amendment and portray it in an incorrect manner that its purpose is (marrying minors or depriving the mother of child custody or depriving the wife of alimony, and depriving the daughter of inheriting real estate) as this portrayal contradicts the truth and what this amendment aims for,” he added, explaining that “the basis of the idea of ​​amending the current Personal Status Law is based initially on the text of Article (41) of the Constitution of the Republic of Iraq for the year 2005, which states that “Iraqis are free to adhere to their personal status according to their religions, beliefs or choice, and this is regulated by law,” so the issue related to personal status is a choice for the person, but according to a law issued by the Council of Representatives.”[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that “the original draft law proposed did not address the detailed provisions related to family matters, such as marriage, divorce, custody, alimony, and other matters related to legal and jurisprudential aspects, but rather referred these topics to the Code of Legal Rulings, which will be prepared later by the Scientific Council in the Shiite Endowment Office and the Scientific and Fatwa Council in the Sunni Endowment Office in coordination with the Supreme Judicial Council and submitted to the House of Representatives for approval within (6) six months from the date of the enforcement of this law.”[/size]
[size=45]The Council stated that “the meeting was attended, on behalf of the Supreme Judicial Council, by the Vice-Presidents of the Court of Cassation, Kazem Abbas and Hassan Fouad, the Senior Judge in the Personal Status and Matters Authority, Saleh Shamkhi, and the Head of Judicial Supervision, Judge Laith Jabr, and on behalf of the House of Representatives, by the members of the Council, Dunya Abdul-Jabbar Al-Shammari, Basem Naghamish Al-Gharibawi, Raed Hamdan Al-Maliki, Mohammed Jassim Al-Khafaji, Hussein Ali Al-Yassari, and Murtada Ali Al-Saadi.”[/size]
[size=45]On September 17, the Federal Supreme Court in Iraq approved the passage of a proposal to amend the Personal Status Law, but subject to controls and conditions.[/size]
[size=45]The Shiite “Coordination Framework” parties are counting on their parliamentary majority to pass these proposed amendments to the Personal Status Law, which enjoys the support of religious authorities in Najaf, and to secure the support of the Sunni blocs, which are demanding in return the issuance of a general amnesty law for thousands of prisoners, as part of what is described as a political deal to pass both laws together.[/size]
[size=45]This comes at a time when Iraq has received a threat from the European Union to impose sanctions and reduce the level of relations if the law is implemented.[/size]
[size=45]Since 2017, political forces with religious backgrounds have failed to pass the law under pressure from the Iraqi street and civil society organizations, which considered the law one of the most unfair laws against women and children.[/size]
[size=45]The parliament's move to amend the Personal Status Law sparked angry reactions from activists and media outlets who warned of what they described as the consecration of sectarianism and the strengthening of the authority of sects at the expense of the judiciary, and granting the ruling parties greater influence, amid criticism from human rights organizations and legal experts as well.[/size]
[size=45]The amendment to the Personal Status Law is based on introducing radical changes to the current law, including allowing girls to marry at the age of nine, restricting women’s rights to inheritance and custody, and granting judges the authority to apply Islamic law to family disputes according to their sect. Critics of the amendment believe that it contributes to undermining the rights of women and children, increases sectarian fanaticism, and threatens to return Iraq to ancient times when women were deprived of their basic rights.[/size]
[size=45]On August 17, the Nakhil Center for Rights and Press Freedoms monitored the existence of “incitement” campaigns led by clerics against lawyers and activists because of their opinions on the draft amendment to the Iraqi Personal Status Law, which sparked a wave of widespread criticism on social media.[/size]
[size=45]On August 11, Raed Al-Maliki, a member of the Parliamentary Legal Committee and the author of the proposal to amend the law, acknowledged that the proposed amendments to the Personal Status Law need to be reviewed to further mature the law before proceeding with the second reading of its draft.[/size]
[size=45]On August 13, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani pledged to discuss all the comments raised regarding the amendment of the Personal Status Law during the sessions of the Supreme Council for Women’s Affairs.[/size]
[size=45]Human Rights Watch warned of what it described as the catastrophic consequences if this law is passed, and said that the Iraqi parliament is working to amend the country’s personal status law, allowing Iraqi religious authorities to regulate marriage and inheritance affairs, instead of state law.[/size]
[size=45]According to a report by Human Rights Watch, if the amendment is approved, it will have disastrous effects on the rights of women and girls guaranteed under international law, as it will allow the marriage of girls as young as nine years old, undermine the principle of equality under Iraqi law, and remove protections for women in divorce and inheritance.[/size]
[size=45]The organization urged Iraqi parliamentarians to reject efforts to strip women and girls of legal protections, and to refuse to roll back the rights they have hard-won over decades, warning that failure to do so means that current and future generations of Iraqi women will continue to be suffocated by an oppressive patriarchal legal system.”[/size]
[size=45]The Personal Status Law in Iraq was approved in 1959 during the reign of then Prime Minister Abdul Karim Qasim. It is a law that applies to all Iraqis without sectarian discrimination until now, but the new amendments indicate in one of its paragraphs that “an Iraqi man and woman have the right, when concluding a marriage contract, to choose the Shiite or Sunni sect whose provisions apply to them in all matters of personal status. Those who have not previously chosen to apply the provisions of a particular sect when concluding a marriage contract may submit a request to the competent Personal Status Court to apply the provisions of Sharia to personal status, according to the sect they choose, and the court must respond to their request.”[/size]
[size=45]The draft law stipulates that “if the parties to a single family case disagree on determining the source of the rulings that must be applied in their request, the Sharia opinion shall be relied upon.” The new amendment also requires “the Scientific Council in the Shiite Endowment Office and the Scientific and Fatwa Council in the Sunni Endowment Office, in coordination with the State Council, to develop a code of Sharia rulings on personal status matters and submit it to the House of Representatives for approval within 6 months from the date of entry into force of this law.”[/size]
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