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
- 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 PENALTYIRAQ: 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
- NOVEMBER 18, 2024IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ: ISIS MEMBER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR POWER TOWER BOMBING
An Iraqi court on November 17, 2024 sentenced a man to death for his involvement in the bombing of electrical power towers in a rural area of Baghdad province.
- OCTOBER 30, 2024IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ: ISIS MEMBER SENTENCED TO DEATH AND LIFE IMPRISONMENT
The Saladin Criminal Court on October 28, 2024 issued three sentences against a "terrorist" affiliated with ISIS, including two death sentences and one life imprisonment.
OCTOBER 23, 2024IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: DEATH SENTENCE FOR TWO ISIS MEMBERS
The Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council on October 23, 2024 reported that two ISIS members were sentenced to death.
- OCTOBER 21, 2024IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ: TEN ISLAMIC STATE MEMBERS SENTENCED TO DEATH AND LIFE IN PRISON
Iraqi judges have handed down death sentences and life sentences to ten members of the Islamic State (IS) arrested in Nineveh province, Agenzia Nova reported on October 18, 2024, citing the Interior Ministry.
OCTOBER 14, 2024IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATION BLAMES PRESIDENT RASHID FOR MASS EXECUTIONS, CITING ‘HORRIFIC’ PRACTICES
The human rights organization "AFAD" on October 12, 2024 issued a statement, condemning mass executions by Iraqi authorities, including elderly inmates and some carried out in "horrific" ways, holding President Abdul Latif Rashid responsible.