Kuwait protests federal court's ruling on Khor Abdullah Navigation Agreement

Shafaq News/ The Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs has officially protested against the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court's ruling regarding the agreement to regulate navigation in Khor Abdullah.

Kuwait's Assistant Foreign Minister for Arab Homeland Affairs, Ahmad Al-Bakr, met with the Iraqi Ambassador to Kuwait, Al-Manhal Al-Safi, to deliver the protest note.

This move comes in response to the Federal Supreme Court's decision to rescind Kuwait and Iraq's agreement to regulate maritime navigation in Khor Abdullah.

The Iraqi Parliament under Law had ratified the agreement No. 42 of 2013, and the Kuwaiti National Assembly under Law No. 4 of 2013. It had also been lodged at the United Nations.

Iraqi bloggers and social media users have called for a response from Iraq, while others emphasize that protest is typically directed at government decisions, not judicial rulings.

The Khor Abdullah Agreement between Iraq and Kuwait regulates maritime navigation in the Khor Abdullah waterway. The waterway is a narrow strait that connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Basra. It is Iraq's only entrance to the Gulf, through which most of its oil exports flow.

The agreement was signed in 2012 and ratified by Iraq in 2013. However, it was annulled by the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court because it was "unconstitutional."

The court ruled that the agreement should have been ratified with the approval of two-thirds of parliament, not a simple majority.