Iraq court strikes down Baath-era limits on foreign ownership

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq's Federal Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a Baath-era decision suspending laws and regulations that allowed non-Iraqis to own property and invest in companies inside Iraq was unconstitutional.

The ruling followed a lawsuit filed by the prime minister against the speaker of parliament, challenging Revolutionary Command Council Decision No. 23 of 1994, as amended by Decision No. 33 of 1997, according to the court’s statement.

Introduced under Saddam Hussein, the 1994 measure suspended laws permitting non-Iraqis to own property or invest in Iraqi companies. A 1997 amendment introduced prison terms of one to three years for non-Iraqis who violated the restrictions and at least two years for Iraqi offenders, along with confiscation of unlawfully acquired assets and investments.

The court, chaired by Judge Munther Ibrahim Hussein, unanimously determined that the measure violated Articles 23(Third)(A), 25, and 26 of Iraq’s 2005 Constitution, which address property rights, economic development, and investment.

The ruling is “final and binding” on all authorities under Article 94 of the Constitution, the court said.

The Revolutionary Command Council, Iraq’s highest governing authority under Saddam Hussein, was dissolved following the fall of his government in 2003.