Mass Resignation of Federal Court Judges: What’s Next for Iraq’s Political Landscape?

The sudden mass resignation of nine judges from Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court has sparked a new crisis, casting uncertainty over the political situation, especially ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for November 11, 2025. 

On June 19, 2025, six of the nine full judges and three alternates submitted their resignations to Judge Jassim al-Omairi, head of the Federal Court, without stating their reasons, fueling widespread speculation about the crisis.

Political Pressure

Many Iraqi politicians and parliamentarians have pointed to political pressures as a key reason behind the mass resignation of Federal Court judges, especially related to the Khor Abdullah agreement between Iraq and Kuwait. The Federal Court had ruled this agreement unconstitutional on September 4, 2023, citing the absence of the required two-thirds majority in parliament sessions, which is essential for legitimacy.

Independent Shiite MP Raed al-Maliki stated that the judges’ resignations were due to pressures linked to the Khor Abdullah case. He accused the Iraqi government of attempting to turn the Federal Court into a compliant tool to serve its own interests under the pretext of protecting the country’s higher interests. Maliki emphasized that this situation is unacceptable and criticized the failure of Shiite leadership in building institutions that respect constitutional sovereignty. He also said he would consult with fellow lawmakers to adopt a unified stance on this serious precedent.

Kurdish MP Shurwan Dubardani agreed with Maliki’s remarks, pointing out that the Federal Court is effectively dissolved since only three judges remain, which is insufficient to meet the quorum of seven judges required to hold sessions. Dubardani added that the court can no longer issue interim rulings, such as suspending administrative decisions pending court cases.

Before the resignations, the Federal Court postponed rulings on appeals filed by Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani against the invalidation of the 2013 Khor Abdullah maritime navigation agreement between Iraq and Kuwait. The court repeatedly postponed hearings from April 15 to June 25, 2025.

Other Iraqi politicians attributed the resignations to tensions caused by the court president’s request for the ruling State of Law Coalition to hold meetings addressing the dispute between the Federal Court and the Court of Cassation, which had overturned several Federal Court decisions. They argued this conflicted with the judiciary’s independence.

The State of Law Coalition includes all political forces forming the current Iraqi government, led by Mohammed al-Sudani, representing various Shiite, Sunni, Kurdish, and Christian groups.

According to Iraq’s al-Aalem newspaper, citing unnamed judicial sources on June 21, the resignations resulted from accumulated disputes between the Supreme Judicial Council and the Federal Court. These disagreements arose from the cancellation and reinstatement of rulings on various cases, including the controversial general amnesty law, which the Federal Court annulled while returning authority over it to the Supreme Judicial Council.

Since its establishment in 2005, the Federal Court has issued many controversial rulings in Iraq. These include the dismissal of former Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, stripping the winning parliamentary coalition in the 2010 elections — the Iraqi Coalition led by Ayad Allawi — of the right to form the government, using the constitutional interpretation of “the largest bloc.”

The court also ordered a manual recount of votes in the 2018 elections at the request of party leaders, including former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Other politically charged rulings include the 2023 decision declaring the Kurdistan Regional Government’s oil and gas law unconstitutional and banning the payment of salaries to its employees.

Legislative Vacuum

Regarding the legislative impact of the crisis, the head of the media team at Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), Emad Jamil, warned that if the judges’ resignations are accepted, they could cast a shadow over the upcoming elections. The Federal Court is responsible for certifying parliamentary election results, so its incapacitation would affect the process, he told Shafaq News.

Lawyer Hazem al-Radini, deputy head of the Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq, also cautioned against accepting the resignations, stressing that parliamentary elections scheduled for November 2025 cannot proceed without Federal Court members. 

He noted that Article 93/7 of the 2005 Iraqi Constitution grants the court the exclusive authority to certify final election results. According to the lawyer, the current parliament’s term ends on November 25, 2025, per Article 49, after which the government shifts to caretaker status, risking a legislative vacuum.

On the other hand, Iraqi legal expert Ali al-Tamimi dismissed concerns that the mass resignations would disrupt the elections. “There is still enough time before the November 11 vote to appoint replacements for the resigning judges, which is a legitimate process since judges are state employees entitled to resign,” he told Al-Estiklal.

“The official reasons for the resignations remain unclear, allowing judicial authorities, including the Supreme Judicial Council, Federal Court, Judicial Oversight Commission, and Public Prosecution, to select replacements.”

The expert downplayed the impact of the resignations, saying the Federal Court is still working and hasn’t been shut down despite some members stepping down.

Three Options

Regarding solutions to the current crisis, Hassan al-Yasiri, constitutional advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister, told the official Iraqi News Agency on June 21 that there are three possible options. The first is for the resigning judges to withdraw their resignations.

The second option involves the remaining judges resigning to trigger Article One of the 2021 amendment to the Federal Supreme Court Law No. 25, which outlines procedures for appointing new members, with the possibility of renewing some existing memberships.

Al-Yasiri explained that if neither of these options is realized, the third option is for Parliament to amend the law governing the Federal Court to reconstitute the court entirely.

He also called for a future constitutional amendment to remove the requirement for the court to certify election results, citing two reasons: first, that this certification is merely a formality without real substance; and second, that the Independent High Electoral Commission is fully autonomous and already works with judicial committees.

Amid the crisis, conflicting reports emerged about whether Federal Court President Jassim al-Amiri submitted a retirement request. On June 23, Iraqi news outlet Alsumaria News cited an unnamed source claiming his resignation, but other unnamed sources told Shafaq News the same day that no official decision has been made and any such announcement would be made publicly.

Al-Amiri has led Iraq’s highest judicial authority since April 12, 2021, following a career in state institutions after graduating from the High Judicial Institute in 2001 and previously serving as a military officer.