Iraqi parliament set to vote on Personal Status Law amendment and property restitution bill

BAGHDAD – Iraq’s parliament will vote Wednesday on two significant measures: a controversial amendment to the Personal Status Law that has sparked protests across the country, and a long-delayed property restitution bill aimed at reversing land confiscations made by the former Revolutionary Command Council.

The proposed amendments to the Personal Status Law, first introduced on Aug. 4, have sparked protests in several cities. A second reading took place on Sept. 16, and the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court recently endorsed the changes, stating they comply with the constitution.

In response to the controversy, Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council convened, criticizing media coverage of the proposed amendments as “inaccurate.” The council clarified that the changes are based on Article 41 of the 2005 Iraqi Constitution, which allows Iraqis to manage personal status matters according to their religious beliefs and “choices.”

The amendments would allow family matters such as inheritance, divorce, and child custody to be governed either by religious authorities or the civil judiciary, depending on individual preference. Critics have raised concerns that these provisions could weaken existing legal protections, particularly for women, and could eliminate the minimum marriage age of 18 for Muslim girls.

The “Draft Law for Returning Properties to Their Owners Affected by Certain Decisions of the Dissolved Revolutionary Command Council” had its first and second readings in Parliament in April. It was scheduled for a vote in a previous session but was removed from the agenda without explanation. Another vote, originally set for May 22, was also postponed.

Most recently, the parliament postponed voting on the property restitution bill on Monday. The bill was removed from the agenda at the last minute, sparking frustration among Kurdish MPs who have been pushing for its passage.

The law aims to reverse decisions made by the Revolutionary Command Council between 1975 and 1979, which resulted in the confiscation of approximately 32,000 acres of agricultural land in Kirkuk that were allocated to Arab settlers.