Iraqi Parliament to vote on contentious laws in Sunday session
Shafaq News/ The Iraqi Council of Representatives is set to hold its 18th session of the fifth electoral cycle next Sunday to deliberate on several contentious laws.
The session’s agenda includes voting on the proposed amendments to Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959, the Property Restitution Law, and the second amendment to General Amnesty Law No. 27 of 2016.
Additionally, the parliament will conduct a second reading of the fifth amendment to the Civil Aviation Law No. 148 of 1974 and the first amendment to the Industrial Cities Law No. 2 of 2019.
Parliament has previously failed to pass these divisive laws, including the Property Restitution Law advocated by Kurds, the Personal Status Law proposed by the Shiite Coordination Framework, and the General Amnesty Law supported by Sunni blocs.
The Property Law concerns properties impacted by decisions of the dissolved Revolutionary Command Council. Kurdish lawmakers and officials say it seeks to return properties confiscated between 1975 and 1979 to their original Kurdish and Turkmen owners. These confiscations, made under eight Revolutionary Command Council decisions, aimed to alter the demographics of disputed areas.
The proposed amendment to the Personal Status Law has sparked debate in parliament and among civil society organizations, focusing on marriage, divorce, inheritance, and child custody.
Simultaneously, Sunni parliamentary and political forces stress the need to pass the Amnesty Law, while Shiite blocs oppose it, fearing the release of detainees accused of terrorism-related offenses.
