President Barzani meets with the heads of Kurdistan's three authorities

Shafaq News/ Under the auspices of the Kurdistan region's President Nechirvan Barzani, the heads of the legislative, judiciary, and executive authorities convened to contemplate the reverberations of the Federal Court's ruling on the oil and gas law enacted by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in 2007.

The advisor to President Barzani, Dilshad Shehab, told Shafaq News Agency that the meeting brings together President Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, Parliament Speaker Rewaz Faiaq, and the head of the Supreme Judicial Council of the region Abdul-Jabbar Aziz Hasan.

The meeting, according to Shehab, will discuss the repercussions of the Supreme Court's ruling and the steps the region will take in response.

On February 15, the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court decreed that the natural resource law passed by the Kurdistan Regional Government in 2007 is unconstitutional, potentially upending the region's oil and gas industry.

Ruling that KRG oil exports and contracts with international oil companies are illegal, the court granted the federal government the right to annul such contracts, claim ownership of KRG oil, and hold Erbil liable for past oil revenues against budget allocations received from Baghdad.

In addition to undermining the KRG's energy industry, the ruling could limit federal Iraq’s too—indeed, the very concept of oil federalism is at risk. The decision also complicates the ongoing government formation process, and may even invite backlash against a judiciary that has maintained widespread respect among Iraqis.