International Law Blog Postings

Yesterday, the Iraq Council of Representatives voted 127-0 (148 absent) in favor of reexamining the constitution, an important and symbolic step towards Jonathan Morrow's prediction of an "inevitably federal Iraq." The vote comes after a crucial constitutional compromise on Sunday. In closed-door negotiations among the major political parties, the Sunni Arabs, who previously opposed federalism because of fears of a partitioned society and lack of access to petroleum wealth, agreed to support legislation implementing federalism under Article 118 in exchange for the ability to craft a constitutional amendment under Article 142. The Sunni Arab's goal is to constrain constitutionally the extent of regional autonomy under federalism and thereby reduce the risks of regional self-rule, regional economic disparities, and social fragmentation in Iraq's ethnically heterogeneous society. In the next step, the Iraqi parliament today will name 27 members to a Constitutional Amendment Committee and will begin debate on the proposed Federalism Bill. Continue Reading