Iraq
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- federal parliamentary democracy
- CONSTITUTION
- ratified on October 15, 2005 (currently under review by the Constitutional Committee and likely to be subject to a referendum in the future)
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on European civil law and Islamic law
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- Council of Representatives
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- according to the constitution, the federal judiciary includes the High Judicial Council, the Federal Supreme Court, the Federal Court of Cassation, the Public Prosecutor's Department, the Judicial Oversight Commission, and other federal courts
RELIGIONS
97% Muslims; Christian and Hindu minorities
From the country
- DECEMBER 28, 2025IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ HANDS DEATH SENTENCE TO EX-BAATH OFFICER OVER BARZANI CRIMES
Iraq’s High Criminal Court on December 28, 2025 sentenced former Baath-era security commander Shaker Ghafour Al-Douri to death after convicting him of participating in mass executions targeting Kurdish Barzani civilians.
- DECEMBER 3, 2025IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ: THREE DRUG DEALERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
A court in Baghdad sentenced three alleged drug dealers to death after they were found in possession of 18 kilograms of narcotics, The New Region reported on November 30, 2025.
NOVEMBER 25, 2025IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: EX-OFFICIAL SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER DEADLY OFFICE CLASH
An Iraqi court sentenced the former director of Baghdad’s Agriculture Department to death for his role in armed clashes that killed a security officer and a civilian, leaving others wounded, the Supreme Judicial Council said on November 25, 2025.
NOVEMBER 3, 2025IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: TWO DRUG TRAFFICKERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
An Iraqi court on November 3, 2025 sentenced two convicted drug traffickers to death, after they were caught in possession of 102 kilograms of Captagon and an additional 96 kilograms of hashish.
- SEPTEMBER 16, 2025IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ COURT DELIVERS DEATH, PRISON SENTENCES IN TERRORISM CASES
The Al-Karkh Criminal Court on September 16, 2025 sentenced a defendant to death for killing five people in Al-Anbar province, the Iraqi judiciary announced.
JULY 1, 2025IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: CRIMINAL COURT GIVES DEATH SENTENCE TO TWO OVER EXECUTION OF TOP CLERIC SADR
An Iraqi criminal court on June 30, 2025 sentenced two men to death for involvement in the execution of prominent Shia cleric Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister during the brutal crackdown of former dictator Saddam Hussein on religious dissent.
JUNE 22, 2025IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: DEATH AND LIFE SENTENCES ISSUED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
A court in Najaf, southern Iraq, on June 22, 2025 handed down death and life sentences to four individuals convicted of drug trafficking.
- MAY 13, 2025IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ’S JUSTICE MINISTER SAYS PRISONS ARE AT DOUBLE CAPACITY AS AMNESTY LAW TAKES EFFECT
As a general amnesty law takes effect in Iraq, the country’s prisons are facing a crisis of overcrowding, housing more than double their intended capacity, the country’s justice minister said in an interview on May 3, 2025.
- APRIL 9, 2025IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
The Central Criminal Court on April 8, 2025 sentenced a drug dealer to death for the crime of trafficking in narcotic substances.
FEBRUARY 26, 2025IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
Basra Criminal Court issued a death sentence against a drug dealer on February 25, 2025.
- FEBRUARY 3, 2025IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ: NINE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council announced that the Central Criminal Court has sentenced nine Iraqi drug traffickers to death after convicting them of smuggling and distributing illicit substances across the country, Kurdistan24 reported on January 29, 202