Iraqi parliament set to debate controversial bills including Personal Status Law amendments

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Parliament is scheduled to convene on Sunday to vote on three highly debated bills: draft laws on property restitution, amendments to personal status laws, and a general amnesty proposal. Each bill reflects the key priorities of Iraq’s Shia, Sunni, and Kurdish political factions.

The parliamentary agenda, released Friday, highlights the most contentious proposal: an amendment to Iraq’s Personal Status Law. Supported by Shia political parties, the amendment would allow Iraqis to choose whether family-related matters—such as divorce, inheritance, and child custody—are resolved by religious authorities or civil courts. Critics warn that the changes could undermine protections for women and potentially lower the legal marriage age for Muslim girls from 18, a standard established under the 1959 law.

The second proposal is the Draft Law for Returning Properties to Their Owners, targeting properties confiscated under the dissolved Revolutionary Command Council. Strongly backed by Kurdish blocs, the bill focuses on restoring property rights, particularly in Kirkuk, to original Kurdish owners affected during the Baath regime.

The third proposal seeks an amendment to the 2016 Pardon Law, championed by Sunni leaders. Many Sunnis argue that, in the aftermath of ISIS’s control of predominantly Sunni provinces in 2014, thousands of individuals were wrongfully detained on terrorism charges. Sunni political factions assert that many detainees were imprisoned without formal judicial orders under Iraq’s stringent “Terrorism Law No. 4,” which mandates the death penalty for members of armed groups.

These three proposals have struggled to gain parliamentary consensus in the past. Their simultaneous inclusion in Sunday’s session signals a potential reciprocal agreement among Shia, Sunni, and Kurdish factions to advance their respective priorities. Though they have been on the agenda previously only to be repeatedly shelved or for parliament to fail to achieve quorum.

This legislative activity follows the election of a new parliamentary speaker. On Oct. 31, 2024, after nearly a year of political deadlock, Iraq’s Parliament elected Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani, a prominent Sunni lawmaker, as its new speaker. Al-Mashhadani, who previously served as speaker from 2006 to 2009, secured 182 votes out of 269 legislators present. The position had been vacant since November 2023, following the dismissal of former Speaker Mohammed Al-Halbousi by the Federal Supreme Court amid allegations of forgery.

Additionally, the session will include the second reading of two other draft laws. The first is the Fifth Amendment to the Civil Aviation Law No. (148) of 1974, proposed by the Committee on Transport and Communications. The second is the First Amendment to the Industrial Cities Law No. (2) of 2019, put forward by the Committee on Economy, Industry, and Trade.