Iraq
08/16/2013
I. Civil Code of Iraq 1951
a. Article 1(2) – In case there is no text available, then the court can use the customs and if there is nothing available in customs you can refer to the principle of Islamic Sharia that is most relevant to the case without restriction to any denomination. If there is nothing else, you have to rely on the principle of justice. http://www.dhrd.info/pdfs/lawo-2.pdf (Original text in Arabic)
II. Iraq Penal Code of 1969
a. Part One: General Principles, Chapter One: Penal Legislation
Part Two Offenses against the Public Welfare, Chapter Eight, Social Offenses; Section Eight, Begging, Paragraph 393 - Anyone who gets together with a woman without her consent, or sodomizes a man or a woman with or without his/her consent, will be punished by life imprisonment or temporary jail time.
b. Part Three: Offenses against the Person, Chapter One: Offenses Affecting the Life and Physical Safety of Others; Section Three: Immodest and Shameful Acts. Paragraph 403 - Any person who produces, imports, publishes, possesses, obtains or translates a book, printed or other written material, drawing, picture, film, symbol or other thing that violates the public integrity or decency with intent to exploit or distribute such material is punishable by a period of detention not exceeding 2 years plus a fine not exceeding 200 dinars or by one of those penalties. The same penalty applies to any person who advertises such material or displays it in public or sells, hires or offers it for sale or hire even though it is not in public or to any person who distributes or submits it for distribution by any means. If the offence is committed with intent to deprave, it is considered to be an aggravating circumstances.
a. Chapter Five: The Penalty, Section Four; Precautionary Measures, Section Five; Legal Excuse and Legally Extenuating Circumstances, Paragraph 128
- Legal excuse either discharges a person from a penalty or reduces that penalty. Excuse only exists under conditions that are specified by law. Notwithstanding these conditions, the commission of an offence with honorable motives or in response to the unjustified and serious provocation of a victim of an offence is considered a mitigating excuse.
- The court must identify in its decision the excuse that discharges a person from a penalty.
http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/452514424.pdf
III. Iraq Revolutionary Command Council Law
a. Full Text: Law No. 1320 Art. 6(C) – There shall be excluded from the provisions of this Resolution:
- A. Those sentenced for death.
- B. Those sentenced for crimes relating with the State interior or external security, conspiracy, espionage, sabotage or arms crimes that have relation with the security, as well as those sentenced persons who were released by virtue of the Revolutionary Command Council Resolutions No. (1076)of 1979 and No. (927) of 1982, or under the provisional release, and then they recommitted felonies or premeditated misdemeanors.
- C. Those sentenced for crimes of rape, sodomy, adultery with forbidden persons, abduction or robberies accompanied with strict circumstance.
- D. Debtors decided to be imprisoned in conformity with the Execution Law.
The Official Gazette of the Republic of Iraq 1984: Part 1 pp. 4 http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/qip/id/668/rec/6
Summary: An Amnesty Law passed by the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council in 1983, expressly excluded sodomy convicts, along with convicts of rape, incest, kidnapping, and aggravated theft. (Iraq Baseline Report 2013)
b. Full Text: Law No. 110, Art. 1 (Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council Law number 110, Article 1 available at http://wiki.dorar-aliraq.net/iraqilaws/law/8258.html. In Arabic)
Summary: In 1988, the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council passed a law to grant amnesty to inmates but the law excluded “sodomy convicts, those convicted of incest, and drug dealers.” (Iraq Baseline Report 2013)
a. Full Text: “The Relief of the sentences for Inmates” Article 10(8) http://www.iraq-ild.org/LoadLawBook.aspx?SP=FREE&SC=280320062666125&Year=1983&PageNum=1 (In Arabic)
Summary: On July 31, 1995, the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council passed another law stating that convicts of sodomy are not eligible for amnesty.
b. Full text: Amnesty Law 19 Art. 2(h), March 3, 2008 available at http://www.iraq-lg-law.org/ar/content/%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%81%D9%88-%D8%B1%D9%82%D9%85-19-%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%86%D8%A9-2008-0
Summary: In 2008 the Iraqi Parliament once again stated that those convicted of rape and sodomy are not eligible for amnesty.
c. Full text: “Al Sabaah publishes the modified version of the proposed Amnesty Law,” Al Sabaah (September 17, 2012) http://alsabaah.com/ArticleShow.aspx?ID=35198 (last visited January 29, 2013).
Additional Resources
Printer-friendly version