Federal Supreme Court of Iraq

The Federal Supreme Court Law No. 25 of 2021, gives the heads of the following: Supreme Judicial Council, Federal Supreme Court, Public Prosecutor’s Department, and Judicial Oversight Commission together complete autonomy in selecting and designating the court’s members by including a clause that permits bypassing the President of the Republic in case the presidential decree for the selected members is not issued regardless of the reason. FSC is composed of a president, a deputy, and seven primary members. The law also stipulates that proportional representation of the main components of Iraqi society must be guaranteed in the court's composition. In practice, this has meant that it is composed of five Shi’i Arabs, two Sunni Arabs, and two Kurds. As of April 2026, FSC is composed of the following members: • Judge Mundhir Ibrahim Hussein Abd Ali (Chief Justice) • Judge Samir Abbas Muhammad Antar (Deputy Chief Justice) • Judge Ghalib Aamir Shanin Madhlum • Judge Haydar Jabir Abd Jasim • Judge Haydar Ali Nouri Hassun • Judge Khalaf Ahmad Rajab Shaykh • Judge Ayyub Abbas Salih • Judge Abdur-Rahman Sulayman Ali • Judge Diyar Muhammad Ali Muhammad In addition to the following reserve members: • Judge Adil Abdul-Razzaq Abbas Muhammad • Judge Khalid Taha Ahmad Dhahir ==History==

In 2005, the Prime Minister of the Interim Iraqi Government, Ayad Allawi, issued an executive order titled Executive Order (No. 30 of 2005), granting the FSC extensive powers to determine the constitutionality of legislative and regulatory acts, arbitrate disputes between Baghdad and the regions and governorates, validate parliamentary election results, and assert exclusive jurisdiction over prosecutions against top government authorities. The court was also given several guarantees of independence, including at the administrative and financial levels. Due to the fact that the Supreme Court at the time was established by an executive order before the adoption of the new Iraqi constitution and the subsequent formation of the Council of Representatives, a separate law passed by the Council (by supermajority) that formally defines the court’s status was required to be passed, per Article 92 of the Constitution of Iraq. However, in June 2021, after a string of failed attempts to reach a compromise between Iraqi political parties representing different components of the society, the Council of Representatives nevertheless passed a law (Federal Supreme Court Law No. 25 of 2021) that amended the previous executive order that defined the FSC, notably, without the required supermajority. ==References==