Amendment to the Constitution of Iraq

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The government of Iraq has established a committee to consider a proposed amendment to the Constitution of Iraq.

Contents

[edit] Current constitution

The current Constitution of Iraq was drafted by a committee of the Iraqi Transitional Government. The agreed text was put to a referendum in October 2005. It was approved by 79% of voters and 15 out of 18 governorates.

[edit] Agreement to consider amendments

In an agreement prior to the referendum, the largest Sunni Arab majority party, the Iraqi Islamic Party agreed to support a "Yes" vote as long as the first parliament elected under the constitution agreed to consider amendments. This agreement was written into Article 142 of the constitution.

[edit] Procedure

Article 137 of the constiution states that the Council of Representatives shall form a committee from its members "representing the principal components of the Iraqi society" which should present proposed amendments to the Council within four months. [1] The amendment package shall be voted on as a whole by the Council, and if passed, put to a referendum which shall pass if approved by a majority of voters and is not rejected by a two-thirds majority in three or more governorates. The conditions for this referendum is the same as the conditions for the original rafification referendum.

The constitution can also be amended by a general procedure which is laid down in Article 122, and which requires a two-thirds approval in the Council of Ministers, followed by approval by a simple majority in a referendum.

[edit] Committee appointment

The committee of 27 was appointed on 2006-09-25, chaired by Iraqi Accord Front member Iyad al-Samarrai. The committee comprised 27 members [2] [3] split as follows:

In addition the representatives of the Turkmen, Sabeans and Yazidis were invited to nominate a member each to join the committee [6]

The Iraqi National Dialogue Front have rejected the deal that lead to the formation of the committee and have refused to participate.

[edit] Proposals

Further information: Federalism in Iraq

The main proposed amendments have come from the Sunni Arab majority parties who want to make it more difficult to establish an oil-rich Shiite "super-region" in the south of Iraq [7] [8]

However, SCIRI has insisted that "essence" of the constitution should be maintained and has pushed for the creation of a Shiite Region covering the nine southern governorates. On March 16 Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of SCIRI proposed a compromise whereby two Regions are created - one in the far South near Basra and one for the middle Euphrates region. [9]

The Islamic Virtue Party governor of Basra has expressed support for a Region covering Basrah and its only its two neighbouring governorates of Maysan and Dhiqar. [10]

The Sadrist Movement supports a stronger central government, saying that federalism should not be applied to the south "while Iraq is still under occupation". [11]

[edit] Iraq Study Group

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The Iraq Study Group of senior american politicians recommended that the constitution be amended as follows: [12]

  • Oil revenue should accrue wholly to the central government and not split with the regions
  • The referendum on Kirkuk joining the Iraqi Kurdistan region should be delayed

[edit] References

  1. ^ Iraqi Constitution, UNESCO
  2. ^ Iraq Forms Panel on Constitution Changes, The Guardian, 2006-09-25
  3. ^ Iraqis Reach Temporary Compromise on Federalism, Threats Watch, 2006-09-27
  4. ^ The Draft Law for the Formation of Regions: A Recipe for Permanent Instability in Iraq?, Historiae, 2006-09-27
  5. ^ constitution amendments committee formed, Niqash, 2006-09-27
  6. ^ constitution amendments committee formed, Niqash, 2006-09-28
  7. ^ Iraq forms panel on Constitution Changes, The Guardian, 2006-09-25
  8. ^ Sunnis back govt talks but say demands must be met, Malaysian Star, 2206-01-22
  9. ^ US/Iraqi Attack on Samarra Region Parliament Sworn In, Informed Comment, 2006-03-17
  10. ^ Proposal to divide Iraq into semi-autonomous states gains ground, Kurdish Media, 2005-05-25
  11. ^ Iraq's Federalism Debate Rages On, Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 2006-09-26
  12. ^ Panel offers recommendations to tackle Iraq's 'dire' plight, Turkish Daily News, 2006-12-08
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