The effectiveness of the Iraqi judiciary in achieving constitutional oversight of laws

Abstract

This study addressed the Iraqi constitutional judiciary, represented by the Supreme Federal Court, through an analytical study of the extent to which the court can exercise genuine and effective oversight to ensure the supremacy of the constitution and protect public rights and freedoms. The research relied on the descriptive-analytical method to review the governing constitutional and legal texts, as well as analyzing a number of recent judicial decisions issued in 2024 and 2025. The study concluded that the Iraqi judiciary has achieved significant progress in exercising oversight, especially regarding addressing legislative omissions and protecting citizens' financial and political rights. However, the study also found procedural and enforcement challenges, most notably the absence of punitive texts deterring those who refuse to implement constitutional rulings, and the difficulty of adjudicating some cases of a political nature, which necessitates amending the court law and developing mechanisms to enforce its decisions to ensure absolute effectiveness.