ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraqi courts on Tuesday began the implementation of the recent controversial amendments to the Personal Status Law, with the first case of divorce according to the Shiite jurisprudence template reported in Basra.

A Basra court on Tuesday approved the divorce of a couple in accordance with the Shiite Jaafari school of jurisprudence, according to a document seen by The New Region, marking the first such case in the province since the amendments to the Personal Status Law came into effect earlier in February.

The amendments to the Personal Status Law govern family-related issues such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and custody, and have long been seen as controversial by civil society activists.

The changes allow couples to choose their religious sect — Shiite or Sunni — when entering into a marriage contract. If the couple cannot agree on a sect, the husband's sect would be applied. Critics argue that this provision could undermine civil rights, particularly for women and girls.

Iraqi MP Raed al-Maliki, who introduced the controversial bill, announced on Tuesday that Civil Status courts have begun drawing up marriage contracts according to the Jaafari school.

“We urge all our Muslim youth to choose to apply the provisions of the Jaafari school of thought in personal status matters. The guarantor of family stability, continuity of marital relations, and the rights of all family members,” said Maliki in a post on Facebook, attached with a sample document of a marriage contract according to the Jaafari school.

The amendments sparked a lot of controversy, with regional and international bodies decrying the amendments for jeopardizing the rights of women and potentially legalizing child marriage. It was published in the Iraqi Official Gazette in mid-February, shortly after it was ratified by Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid.