Procedures
Courts of first instance, appeal, and the Federal Court of Cassation
Civil claims are heard by courts of first instance, appealed to regional courts of appeal, and may reach the Federal Court of Cassation. The Kurdistan Region has its own parallel hierarchy ending in its own cassation court.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Federal and regional, with two separate cassation courts.
- Deadline — Appeal against a first instance judgment: ten days from notification in summary matters, thirty days in ordinary civil cases
- Deadline — Cassation: thirty days from notification of the appeal judgment
Governing law
- Code of Civil Procedure No. 83 of 1969
- Judicial Organisation Law No. 160 of 1979
In practice
Procedure follows the Egyptian-influenced civil law model: written pleadings, judge-led investigation, no jury. The 1969 code remains in force with amendments. Practical difficulties are administrative rather than doctrinal — court records were badly damaged in 2003 and after, enforcement of judgments is slow, and the Higher Judicial Council has been rebuilding capacity for two decades. Commercial parties routinely provide for arbitration; Iraq acceded to the New York Convention in 2021, which materially improved the enforceability of foreign awards and is a recent change worth checking against older guidance.