ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraq’s newly-elected parliament is facing a “wave” of legislation that must be passed, experts said, stressing that the long-delayed oil and gas law and the Federal Supreme Court law should be at the top of the agenda. 

Over 125 draft laws are either ready for a vote or awaiting the completion of a second reading. A similar number of draft laws remain stuck due to political or technical disagreements that have held them back through several previous legislative cycles. 

According to the experts, many of the pending laws carry significant weight, affecting the rights and daily lives of large segments of the Iraqi population. They also say some laws could resolve long-standing institutional disputes by regulating relations between state institutions, the legislative and judicial branches, and between the federal government and the authorities of the Kurdistan Region and the country’s provinces.

Important laws

Legal expert Ali al-Tamimi told the state newspaper on Monday that “there are a number of laws that were never passed despite their high importance and benefit to society.”

He said the most prominent is the Federal Oil and Gas Law, which has remained unlegislated since 2007. Passing the law, he explained, would regulate the relationship between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region, establish a federal oil council responsible for contracting with companies and determining fees, end the salary dispute between the federal and regional governments, and address all related matters.

Kurdish officials have repeatedly called for the passage of an oil and gas law to regulate the country’s natural resources in a legal manner and prevent them from being tangled in political disputes between Baghdad and Erbil. 

Tamimi added that other key laws include the right to access information, cybercrime, and the right to protest, which have already been legislated in many countries. He said many constitutional articles also still require laws to regulate their application.

The new parliament will be handed over the unpassed laws and legislate new drafts, either those submitted by the executive branch under Article 60 of the Constitution or proposals presented by new lawmakers, according to Tamimi, who added that these laws are essential because they regulate social life and that many orders issued by the now-dissolved Revolutionary Command Council of Baathist Iraq are still in force and must be replaced. This, he said, places the next parliament before a true “legislative revolution.”

Drafts ready for voting

Legal affairs specialist Mohammed Majid al-Saadi said more than 125 draft laws ready for a vote have accumulated from previous cycles.

He told the state newspaper that the most significant laws lacking political consensus include the oil and gas law, the general budget law, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) law, the Federal Supreme Court law, and the National Security law.

Saadi said disagreements over the Federal Supreme Court law center on the method of selecting judges, the membership of religious jurisprudence experts, and the required two-thirds voting formula. He noted that the Federation Council law is also stalled due to disputes over provincial and regional representation, its authority compared to the parliament, and its constitutional significance under Articles 48 and 65. The law has not been implemented since 2005.

Several economic and administrative laws also remain stalled, according to Saadi. These include the Federal Oil and Gas Law, delayed due to disputes between the federal and regional governments over jurisdiction, field management, and exports. He said this law is Iraq’s most important economic legislation because it regulates the management of oil wealth.

He also said the Public Companies Law is stalled due to differing views on converting state-owned companies into profitable entities and partial privatization. The delay affects more than 176 government companies.

Saadi pointed to the unified pension and social security law, suspended because of its high financial costs and disagreements over its funding structure. He noted that the law is important because it would unify labor and social security legislation across the public and private sectors.

Security and sovereign laws also remain stalled. The National Security Service Law is delayed because of debates about authorities, oversight, and the agency’s federal affiliation. The National Guard (local protection) law has not advanced due to disagreements over whether the forces should be federal or local, especially in provinces liberated from the Islamic State (ISIS).

Entitlements and amendments

A senior member of the Iraqi Jurists Union, Ammar Abu Tabeekh, said the most important laws awaiting the next parliament include amendments to the Law of the Jurists Union, including provisions to protect legal employees and compensate those who are not practicing the profession.

He told the state newspaper that the Law of Advocacy (Law of Lawyers) should also be passed by the next parliament and has reached its final stages.

Constitutional law expert Wael Munther al-Bayati said the next parliament must pass laws that are tied to the future government’s program and are essential requirements for forming the government itself. Chief among them, he said, are the Federation Council Law and the Oil and Gas Law, as both define the federal structure of the modern Iraqi state.

Bayati also called on Iraq to legislate laws related to fulfilling international commitments, such as the UN Convention against Corruption and transparency obligations. 

Stalemate and disputes

Legal expert Tariq al-Sharaa said more than 120 laws remain stuck without a vote or even a first or second reading due to political disputes or technical challenges.

He said the most prominent of these include the PMF law, the political parties law, laws concerning teachers and educators, the industrial investment law (which has had its first reading), the Programmers Syndicate law, and several laws related to educational qualifications and public-sector employment. He said laws regarding salary scales and retirement are also stalled.

Sharaa said the advocacy law, which he and others fought for, has remained stuck since its first reading and was sidelined. He added that the peaceful protest law is also stalled and remains one of the most contentious legislative files inside parliament. He expressed hope that the next parliament will prioritize laws affecting political, social, and economic rights.

Lawyer Alya Aboud said she expects the domestic violence laws, which have remained unpassed across three parliamentary terms despite discussions with lawmakers and civil society groups, to finally be brought to a vote.

She told the state newspaper that parliament must also amend the election law, the right-to-information law, domestic violence legislation, and provisions of the Iraqi Penal Code.

Iraq held general parliamentary elections on Tuesday, the sixth since the 2003 US-led invasion, with an unexpectedly high turnout rate of 56.11 percent despite a boycott call by powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. 

According to the Independent High Electoral Commission’s (IHEC) preliminary results, the Reconstruction and Development Alliance, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and the Taqaddum Party secured the most votes at the national level.