Baghdad: Iraqi President Abdulatif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammad Al-Soudani have decided to withdraw their appeal against the decision to annul the Khor Abdullah treaty, opting instead to submit the case to parliament. This decision emerged from a meeting held at Baghdad Palace, which also included Parliament Speaker Mahmoud Mashhadani.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the official statement released after the meeting detailed discussions about the treaty, which regulates navigation at Khor Abdullah and was originally endorsed by the parliament under Law 42/2013. The treaty's legislation was later deemed unconstitutional by the supreme federal court, following lawsuit 105 and the affiliate 194 (2023).
The leaders reached a consensus that parliament must address the necessary legislative actions in accordance with the federal court's ruling, which called for the re-legislation of the endorsement law. Consequently, the president and prime minister agreed to retract the appeals previously submitted to the federal court, emphasizing Iraq's commitment to international conventions, UN charters, and UN Security Council resolutions.
The federal court annulled the treaty law on September 4, 2023, citing its unconstitutionality as it contradicted provision 61 of the constitution, which requires international treaties and agreements to be approved by two-thirds of parliament members. This requirement had not been met in the case of the Khor Abdullah law.
The court had repeatedly annulled the appeals, and although it was expected to consider them by July 30, the decision to withdraw them has now been made. Meanwhile, a change in the court's leadership has occurred, with Judge Jassem Al-Omairi resigning due to health reasons and Justice Munther Ibrahim being appointed as the new chief judge of the tribunal.