Federal Supreme Court rejects Cardinal Sako’s lawsuit against his dismissal as Patriarch of Babylon

BAGHDAD, November 16 — The Federal Supreme Court announced on Thursday it rejected a lawsuit filed by Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako challenging the decision to withdraw his appointment as Patriarch of Babylon. The court ruled there was no evidence undermining the legality of the procedures.

A statement from the judiciary said the court deliberated case number 186/Federal/2022, which challenges the validity of procedures to withdraw the Republic’s decree appointing Sako as the Patriarch of Babylon.

The court decided to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Sako, who is the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Babylon, on the grounds there was no evidence compromising the validity of the procedures for issuing Decree No. 31 of 2023.

The decree, published in the Iraqi Gazette under number 4727 on July 3, 2023, was issued by Abdul Latif Rashid, President of Iraq, who is named in the complaint by Sako. The decree involved the withdrawal of Republic Decree No. 147 of 2013, which had appointed Sako as the Patriarch of Babylon for  Chaldeans in Iraq and worldwide, and also entrusted him with the management of its endowments.