Ali Zuweid's Political Programme
Proposed legislation · State, Constitution, Justice, Rights and Governance
New Criminal Procedure Code and Safeguards for Detention and Investigation and against Torture and Enforced Disappearance
A modern criminal procedure code making judicial oversight, defence rights and lawful evidence the foundation of every investigation and trial, and legally closing avenues for secret detention, torture and enforced disappearance.
Executive Summary
The bill proposes replacing Criminal Procedure Code No. (23) of 1971, as amended, with a modern procedural code unifying criminal proceedings from reporting, arrest and investigation through trial, appeal and enforcement. It places personal liberty, the presumption of innocence and defence rights under practical rather than merely formal judicial oversight, preferring summonses and alternatives to detention wherever possible, and requiring reasons for every decision affecting liberty or privacy.
The bill establishes an integrated system to prevent torture and enforced disappearance: immediate recording of every deprivation of liberty in a unified national register; prohibition of secret detention facilities; families' right to know a detainee's whereabouts; access to counsel and medical examination; an independent investigation whenever reasonable suspicion arises; professional documentation of injuries; and exclusion of statements or evidence obtained through torture or coercion. It also empowers the judiciary to issue urgent orders locating and producing any detainee, and makes refusal to disclose their fate or whereabouts a direct ground for investigation.
The bill modernizes search, surveillance, digital evidence and chain-of-custody rules, ensures disclosure of exculpatory evidence to the defence, raises the conviction standard to proof beyond reasonable doubt, and makes reasoned judgments and effective appeals integral to justice rather than subsequent formalities. It creates no parallel agencies, instead building on the Supreme Judicial Council, the Public Prosecution, the Legal Aid Law, the Witness Protection Law and the Inmates' Rehabilitation Law.
Constitutional and legal context
The Iraqi Constitution expressly limits state powers in criminal proceedings. Article (15) protects life, security and liberty and permits restrictions only according to law and by decision of a competent court. Article (19) guarantees defence rights, the presumption of innocence and fair treatment, prohibits confinement, forbids detention outside legally designated facilities and requires investigation papers to be presented to a judge within twenty-four hours of arrest. Article (37) also prohibits detention or investigation without a judicial decision, prohibits all psychological and physical torture and inhuman treatment, and nullifies the evidentiary value of confessions obtained through coercion, threats or torture.
Criminal Procedure Code No. (23) of 1971, as amended, remains the general framework in force, having undergone amendments and scattered legislative changes over decades. Later laws operate alongside it, including Public Prosecution Law No. (49) of 2017; Protection of Witnesses, Experts, Informants and Victims Law No. (58) of 2017; Inmates and Detainees Rehabilitation Law No. (14) of 2018; and Legal Aid Law No. (7) of 2024. These laws provide important elements, but do not replace the need to modernize the central procedural code that determines what happens in practice from the point of suspicion and arrest.
Internationally, Iraq is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. This entails obligations to provide effective, prompt judicial oversight of deprivation of liberty, ensure fair trials, investigate torture and enforced disappearance, and prevent the use of evidence obtained through torture.
Legislative Gap
The problem is that the core code was drafted before the current Constitution and before Iraq joined several relevant conventions, and was then overlaid with amendments, decisions and special laws. The result is more than an old text: safeguards are fragmented, law and practice diverge, and there is no unified framework for a national register of deprivation of liberty, digital evidence, audiovisual recording of questioning, clear procedural consequences for evidence obtained through torture, and effective judicial review of detention.
In the latest list of issues on Iraq adopted by the United Nations Committee against Torture in 2025, criminalization of torture and detainees' fundamental legal safeguards remained follow-up points on which the Committee considered earlier information insufficient to assess implementation of its recommendations. The mechanism under the International Convention on Enforced Disappearance also continues monitoring Iraq's prevention, investigation and fate-clarification measures.
Legislative policy
- The judiciary first: Every measure affecting liberty or privacy requires judicial authorization, reasons and review.
- Detention is exceptional: The classification of the offence alone is insufficient; individual necessity must be established and alternatives considered.
- No unregistered detainees: An interconnected national register prevents secret detention in practice and enables oversight.
- Lawful evidence: Torture and coercion have no procedural value; modern rules apply to digital evidence and forensic medicine.
- Defence from the outset: Rights to counsel, access to the file and legal aid begin with the first actual interference with the person's legal position.
- Independent investigation of violations: A body suspected of involvement may not investigate itself or retain control over the victim or evidence.
- Use existing institutions: No new bureaucratic authority is created; judicial authorities, the Public Prosecution and implementing bodies work together through auditable duties.
Text of the bill
In the name of the people, pursuant to the approval of the Council of Representatives and ratification by the President of the Republic, and in accordance with the Constitution, the following Code is enacted:
Book 1 — General Provisions and Principles
Article (1) — Title and scope
This Code shall be called the “Criminal Procedure Code”. Its provisions apply to criminal proceedings from reports or complaints, preliminary inquiries, investigation and trial through appeals and enforcement of decisions, unless another law contains a special provision more favourable to fair-trial safeguards.
Article (2) — Objectives of the Law
This Code aims to establish the truth by lawful means, protect society and victims, uphold the presumption of innocence and defence rights, ensure judicial oversight of deprivation of liberty, prevent torture, enforced disappearance and secret detention, and secure a fair trial within a reasonable time.
Article (3) — Supremacy of the Constitution
This Code shall be interpreted consistently with the Constitution, fundamental rights and freedoms and international conventions binding on the Republic of Iraq. Restrictions on liberty, privacy or defence rights may not be extended by analogy or broad interpretation.
Article (4) — Procedural Legality
No measure affecting liberty, privacy, the inviolability of the home or confidentiality of communications may be taken without a legal provision, a legitimate purpose, and necessity and proportionality. The direct effects of a measure taken by an incompetent body or without the fundamental safeguards prescribed in this Code are void.
Article (5) — Presumption of Innocence
Every accused person is innocent until proven guilty by a final judgment of a competent, independent and impartial court following a fair trial. They need not prove their innocence, and public authorities may not present them to the public as guilty before final judgment.
Article (6) — Right of Defence
The right of defence is sacred and guaranteed from the first preliminary inquiry, arrest or questioning until proceedings conclude. Suspects and accused persons may choose counsel and communicate privately with them. The state shall provide legal aid to those eligible under the law.
Article (7) — Humane Treatment
Everyone subject to criminal procedure shall be treated with respect for their dignity and physical and psychological integrity. Torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment are absolutely prohibited, without exceptions for emergencies, superior orders or security requirements.
Article (8) — Right to Silence
Suspects and accused persons have the right to remain silent and not to incriminate themselves or be compelled to confess. They shall be informed of this right before any question concerning the charge. Exercising it alone may not give rise to an inference of guilt.
Article (9) — Equality and Non-Discrimination
Procedures shall be applied without discrimination. Reasonable accommodation shall be provided where disability, age, language or other circumstances affect a person's capacity to understand or participate effectively in a procedure.
Article (10) — Proportionality and Least Restrictive Means
Where several lawful means can achieve a procedural purpose, the means least intrusive upon rights and freedoms shall be chosen. Arrest, pretrial detention, force, searches and precautionary restrictions may be used only to the extent necessary.
Article (11) — Reasonable Expedition
Investigating authorities and courts shall resolve cases without unjustified delay, prioritizing cases involving detainees, children and victims at risk. Speed may not compromise defence rights or the quality of investigation.
Article (12) — Public Trial
Trial hearings shall be public. By reasoned decision, the court may limit attendance or hold a closed hearing to the extent necessary to protect public security, morals, minors, private life or witnesses. Judgment shall be pronounced publicly.
Article (13) — Definitions
For this Code, the following terms mean: “accused person”, a person formally accused of an offence; “suspect”, a person subject to serious inquiries before charges are brought; “pretrial detainee”, a person provisionally deprived of liberty by judicial order; “detainee”, anyone deprived of liberty for any procedural reason; “victim”, a person directly harmed by an offence; “investigator”, a person legally empowered to investigate under judicial supervision; and “national register of deprivation of liberty”, the official system prescribed in this Code.
Article (14) — Calculation of Time Limits
Periods shorter than one day shall be calculated in hours; otherwise, in calendar days. The fraction of the hour or day when the procedure began is excluded, except for a maximum period of deprivation of liberty, which runs from the moment of actual arrest.
Article (15) — Electronic Service
Service may be effected through reliable electronic means that establish identity and the date of receipt, under a regulation issued by the Supreme Judicial Council. This shall not deprive interested persons of paper service where electronic means are unavailable.
Article (16) — Language of Proceedings and Interpretation
Proceedings shall use the court's official language. A qualified, independent interpreter, including a sign-language interpreter, shall be provided free of charge to anyone unable to understand or communicate in that language. Essential decisions shall be translated to the extent necessary to exercise defence rights.
Article (17) — Documentation of Procedures
Essential procedures shall be documented in writing or digitally, recording the time, place, identities of those conducting and attending them, objections and decisions. Audiovisual recording is mandatory for questioning, identification confrontations and procedures specified in this Code where technical infrastructure is available. Any inability to record, and its reasons, shall be documented.
Article (18) — Procedural Nullity
A procedure is void where the law so provides or where a fundamental breach affects procedural fairness, defence rights or the integrity of evidence. Nullity arising from torture, secret detention, lack of judicial jurisdiction or denial of counsel where attendance is mandatory is not cured merely by consent or silence.
Book 2 — Criminal Proceedings and Their Parties
Article (19) — Initiating Criminal Proceedings
Criminal proceedings shall be initiated by complaint, report, referral from a competent body or the Public Prosecution's own initiative for offences prosecutable without a complaint. The time and date of receipt shall be entered in an official register.
Article (20) — Complaint-Dependent Proceedings
For offences requiring a complaint by the victim, proceedings may be initiated only by an entitled person or their legal representative. Withdrawal terminates the complaint within the limits prescribed by substantive law, without prejudice to other victims' rights.
Article (21) — Reporting Serious Offences
A public official who learns in the course of their duties of a felony, torture, enforced disappearance, secret detention or suspicious death in custody shall immediately notify the Public Prosecution or investigating judge. The report may not be referred solely to the body suspected of involvement for investigation.
Article (22) — Protection of Reporting Persons and Informants
Legal protection measures apply to reporting persons, informants, witnesses and victims. Where a serious risk exists, a judge may take urgent protective measures before administrative procedures are completed.
Article (23) — Public Prosecution
The Public Prosecution shall perform its functions under the Public Prosecution Law and oversee the lawfulness of investigations, arrest, pretrial detention and enforcement of judgments. It may request any measure necessary to establish the truth or protect rights, and challenge decisions in accordance with law.
Article (24) — Independence of Judicial Investigation
The investigating judge shall decide independently and be subject to no administrative or security direction when assessing evidence or issuing arrest, detention or search orders. No body may prevent access to the judge or withhold a file or detainee from them.
Article (25) — Investigators
Investigators shall act under the investigating judge's supervision within their legal authorization. They shall record inculpatory and exculpatory evidence alike and preserve the chain of custody of seized items and digital evidence.
Article (26) — Judicial Police Officers
Judicial police officers shall receive reports, preserve crime scenes, collect preliminary information and execute judicial orders. They may not question the accused about the charge in a manner that substitutes for judicial questioning.
Article (27) — Victims' Rights
Victims have the right to respectful treatment, basic information on the progress of proceedings, protection requests, submission of evidence and applications, assistance of counsel, compensation claims and challenges to decisions where the law permits.
Article (28) — Privacy and Data Protection
The data of victims, witnesses and accused persons shall be protected and disclosed only to the extent necessary for the procedure or the requirements of open justice. Particular protection shall be given to children and victims of sexual offences, trafficking and domestic violence.
Article (29) — Civil Claimant
Anyone directly harmed by an offence may seek compensation before the criminal court under this Code. The court may refer complex assessments of civil harm to the civil court without delaying resolution of criminal proceedings.
Article (30) — Civilly Liable Person
A person civilly liable for the accused's conduct may be joined to the proceedings within the limits prescribed by law and shall be able to defend themselves and appeal the civil part of the judgment.
Article (31) — Representation and Legal Aid
Where an accused person or victim cannot afford counsel and meets the Legal Aid Law's conditions, counsel shall be appointed without delay. Appointment is mandatory in felony cases, for juveniles and for anyone whose condition prevents effective self-defence.
Article (32) — Conflicts of Interest in Defence
One lawyer may not represent multiple accused persons where an actual or potential conflict of interest exists. The court or investigating judge shall alert the parties and take the measures needed to ensure independent defence.
Article (33) — Access to the File
The accused and their counsel may inspect and obtain copies of the case file, evidence relied upon by the prosecution and exculpatory or mitigating evidence. Disclosure of a specific item may be postponed for a limited period by reasoned judicial decision where necessary to protect a person or an ongoing investigation, without impairing the substance of the defence.
Article (34) — Confidentiality of Investigation
Preliminary investigations shall be confidential as against persons other than the parties and those legally entitled to access. Confidentiality shall not prevent the accused and counsel from exercising defence rights or victims from exercising their rights. It may not be used to conceal a detainee's whereabouts or prevent judicial oversight.
Book 3 — Preliminary Inquiries and Investigation
Article (35) — Receiving Reports
Reports shall be registered immediately upon receipt with a number, date and time. Acknowledgment shall be given to the reporting person where safe. Felonies and offences affecting liberty or physical integrity shall be referred to the investigating judge and Public Prosecution without delay.
Article (36) — Initial Measures
A judicial police officer may take urgent measures to safeguard people, preserve the crime scene and prevent loss of evidence, without exceeding necessity. Subsequent measures affecting rights require judicial authorization where legally prescribed.
Article (37) — Crime Scene
The crime scene shall be secured and delimited. Entrants, seized items and their locations shall be recorded, and its condition documented by appropriate means. It may be altered only to save life, avert an imminent danger or meet a technical requirement recorded in the report.
Article (38) — Gathering Exculpatory Evidence
The investigating body shall seek evidence negating or mitigating the accusation as diligently as it seeks evidence of guilt. Every substantive defence request, the decision granting or refusing it and reasons for refusal shall be recorded in the file.
Article (39) — Expert Evidence
An expert shall be appointed by an order specifying the task, deadline and materials received. Experts shall act independently and disclose conflicts of interest. Parties may challenge the report and request another expert on substantial grounds.
Article (40) — Forensic Medicine
Relevant bodies, injuries and biological traces shall be referred to competent forensic medical bodies, with due regard to independent examination, chain-of-custody integrity and the defence's right to request a counter-examination or consulting expert.
Article (41) — Examination of Injuries in Custody
Every injury visible on a person deprived of liberty upon arrest, transfer or arrival at a detention facility shall immediately be documented in a separate register, and the person shall receive a confidential medical examination. Unexplained injuries or allegations of ill-treatment shall be reported directly to the Public Prosecution and investigating judge.
Article (42) — Witness Testimony
Witnesses shall be heard without coercion or unlawful promises. The substance of their testimony and how they perceived the event shall be recorded. Coaching witnesses or showing them another witness's testimony to align their accounts is prohibited.
Article (43) — Threatened Witnesses
Measures may protect a witness's identity or location where a serious risk exists, provided they do not deprive the accused of an effective opportunity to challenge the evidence and a conviction does not rest decisively on anonymous testimony.
Article (44) — Child Witnesses
Arrangements for hearing children shall respect their age and best interests and limit repeated questioning and confrontation. Their statements may be recorded audiovisually and a social or psychological expert engaged according to the offence's nature.
Article (45) — Victims with Special Needs
Victims requiring support because of disability, trauma or age shall receive suitable communication methods and procedural arrangements, without diminishing the defence's right to test the evidence.
Article (46) — Identification of Persons
Identification procedures shall minimize suggestion. Where possible, the person shall be presented within a group of persons with similar characteristics. The procedure shall be audiovisually recorded, and the identifying witness told that the suspect may not be among the group.
Article (47) — Confrontation
An accused person shall not be confronted with a victim or witness where this would cause serious harm or unnecessary intimidation and the purpose can be achieved less harmfully, particularly in sexual offences and violence against children.
Article (48) — Crime Re-enactment
An accused person may not be compelled to re-enact an event in a manner that induces a confession or impairs dignity. A voluntary explanatory reconstruction may take place in counsel's presence after the right to refuse is explained.
Article (49) — Investigation of Deaths in Custody
Every death during arrest, pretrial detention or imprisonment, or following force used by law enforcement officials, shall immediately trigger an independent investigation, with a judicial autopsy and preservation of recordings, duty rosters, communications and identities of everyone responsible for custody.
Article (50) — Independent Investigation of Officials' Violations
Where suspected torture, enforced disappearance, killing or serious injury is attributed to a security body, the investigation shall be conducted by a judge and investigation teams independent of that body. The Supreme Judicial Council may transfer the investigation geographically where necessary to ensure independence or witness safety.
Article (51) — Investigation Orders
Orders of the investigating judge shall be written or electronically recorded, dated and reasoned when affecting liberty or privacy. They shall specify the person, place or item, purpose and duration as far as possible.
Article (52) — Delegation of Investigative Tasks
An investigating judge may delegate a specific task to an investigator where its nature does not fall within exclusive judicial authority. Issuing arrest, pretrial detention, search or communications interception orders, or determining appeals and substantive applications, may not be delegated.
Article (53) — Public Prosecution's Attendance
The Public Prosecution may attend investigations, inspect their papers and submit applications. It shall be notified immediately of felonies, torture, enforced disappearance and deaths in custody.
Article (54) — Investigation Records
Records shall be clearly written without unmarked erasure or alteration, specifying the procedure's start and end times, place, attendees and objections or requests. Those conducting and attending it shall sign after the record is read to them, or the reason for refusing to sign shall be stated.
Article (55) — Remote Investigation
Video communication may be used for a limited procedure where attendance is impossible and this does not impair confrontation, confidentiality or private communication with counsel. Remote investigation may not routinely replace a detainee's personal appearance before the judge reviewing the lawfulness of detention.
Article (56) — Seizure of Items
Items derived from or used in an offence, or useful in establishing the truth, may be seized by judicial order. They shall be described, labelled and stored to prevent substitution or tampering, and their holder shall receive a receipt.
Article (57) — Return of Seized Items
Items no longer needed for investigation shall be returned to the person establishing entitlement unless subject to confiscation or a serious dispute. Return may be conditional on first providing a certified copy or forensic image.
Article (58) — Management of Seized Assets
Perishable assets or assets requiring special management shall be preserved under a judicial framework safeguarding their value and third-party rights. The seizing body may not use them for operational purposes.
Article (59) — Chain of Custody
Every receipt, transfer, opening, examination and return of evidence shall record the responsible person's name and the date and time. A substantial unexplained break affects evidentiary weight according to its impact on integrity, without an automatic presumption of reliability.
Article (60) — Biological Tests
An invasive bodily sample may be taken only with consent or by judicial order where necessary and proportionate, and by a health professional. Use outside the case is prohibited unless authorized by law.
Article (61) — Fingerprints and Photographs
Fingerprints, photographs and identifying measurements may be taken according to law where necessary for investigation or identification. They shall be erased, or retention restricted, when their purpose ends, under data protection rules.
Article (62) — DNA
DNA samples and information shall be subject to strict collection, storage, matching and destruction controls. A general database may be established only by a special law defining categories, retention periods, oversight and objection rights.
Book 4 — Searches, Surveillance and Digital Evidence
Article (63) — Inviolability of the Home
A dwelling may be entered or searched only by reasoned judicial order, except in imminent danger to save life, prevent an ongoing serious offence or in immediate pursuit within legal limits. Reasons for urgent entry shall be recorded and presented to the judge immediately.
Article (64) — Contents of a Search Warrant
A search warrant shall specify the place, items or data sought, offence under investigation and execution period. It may not become an unrestricted general search.
Article (65) — Time of Search
Searches shall take place at appropriate times and minimize intrusion on personal inviolability. They may occur at night only where the judicial order expressly permits this on substantial grounds or where a flagrante delicto situation or imminent danger requires it.
Article (66) — Attendance of the Occupier
The occupier or their representative shall be allowed to attend the search where possible without danger or obstruction and shall receive a copy of the warrant and an inventory of seized items.
Article (67) — Personal Searches
A person may be searched only on a legal basis and reasonable grounds. Searches shall be proportionate and respect dignity. Intimate bodily searches shall be conducted by a health professional under judicial order, except in a medical emergency.
Article (68) — Correspondence and Communications
Communications confidentiality is protected. Communications may be intercepted, recorded or their content obtained only under a time-limited judicial order investigating a serious offence, where less intrusive means are insufficient.
Article (69) — Communications Data
Subscriber or traffic data needed for investigation may be requested under a judicial order specifying scope and duration. The degree of intrusion on privacy shall inform the type of authorization required.
Article (70) — Covert Surveillance
Extended covert surveillance, tracking devices and concealed recording may be used only for serious offences under a reasoned judicial order specifying the target, duration, method and limits on collecting unrelated persons' data.
Article (71) — Renewal and Termination
A surveillance order may be renewed only after the previous period's results and continuing necessity are stated. Surveillance shall end as soon as its grounds cease, even before the authorized period expires.
Article (72) — Professionally Privileged Material
Lawyer–client communications and defence papers protected by professional confidentiality may not be seized or inspected unless independent evidence indicates that the professional relationship itself is being used to commit an offence, with procedures protecting material unrelated to the suspicion.
Article (73) — Journalistic Sources
A journalist may be compelled to disclose a confidential source only by an exceptional judicial decision concerning a serious offence, after establishing that the information is necessary, unavailable through alternative means, and that the public interest in disclosure outweighs harm to press freedom.
Article (74) — Digital Evidence
Digital evidence shall be collected and copied forensically, preserving the original and the integrity of data and metadata. Every access, copy and analysis shall be documented. The defence shall have an adequate opportunity to examine the forensic copy and relevant methodological tools.
Article (75) — Searches of Digital Devices
Seizing an electronic device does not authorize unrestricted access to its contents. The judicial order shall define relevant data categories, time periods and accounts, with procedures isolating private data unrelated to the case.
Article (76) — Cloud Data
Where access to data held by a service provider requires legal or international cooperation, prescribed procedures shall be followed. Authorities may not exceed territorial jurisdiction except under an agreement or law in force.
Article (77) — Urgent Data Preservation
A judge may order temporary preservation of specified data at risk of loss, without authorizing access to its content, for the time needed to obtain an appropriate legal order.
Article (78) — Use of Analytical Software
Technical analytical tools may assist in sorting large volumes of evidence, provided results permit human review. A court may not rely on an unexplainable automated result as independent evidence of guilt.
Article (79) — Destruction or Return
Incidentally collected copies and data unrelated to the case shall be destroyed when the legal need ends, unless the judge orders their retention for another case on independent grounds.
Article (80) — Challenging Searches and Surveillance
Any interested person may challenge the lawfulness of a search, surveillance or seizure and seek exclusion of its results or return of seized items. The court or investigating judge shall decide the application without delay by reasoned decision.
Book 5 — Summonses, Arrest and Pretrial Detention
Article (81) — Summons as the Default
Where attendance can be secured without arrest, a summons shall precede an arrest warrant, particularly for non-serious offences where the person has a known residence and no indications exist of flight or interference with evidence.
Article (82) — Contents of a Summons
A summons shall state the requested person's name and capacity, the authority, place, time and purpose of attendance, and the legal consequences of unjustified non-attendance. Service shall be capable of proof.
Article (83) — Arrest Warrant
Only a competent judge may issue an arrest warrant. It shall be written and reasoned, identify the person and offence, provide sufficient particulars for execution, and be entered immediately in the judicial warrant system.
Article (84) — Arrest without a Warrant
Arrest without a warrant is permitted only in flagrante delicto, where a person has escaped lawful custody, or in a case expressly prescribed by law. The grounds for arrest shall be presented to a judge without delay.
Article (85) — Informing the Arrested Person
An arrested person shall immediately be informed, in a manner they understand, of the reason for arrest, the ordering authority and their rights to silence, counsel, notification of a chosen person, medical examination and a challenge to the lawfulness of deprivation of liberty.
Article (86) — Showing Identification
The arresting officer shall disclose their capacity and official identification unless genuine security circumstances create an immediate danger. In all cases, the force and individuals involved shall be identified in the arrest register, accessible to the judiciary.
Article (87) — Use of Force
Force in arrest may be used only where necessary and proportionate to counter actual resistance or lawfully prevent escape, and shall cease once the situation is controlled. Every use of force and injury shall be documented and medically assessed.
Article (88) — Restraints
Restraints may be used only as necessary to prevent escape, harm or assault, never for punishment or humiliation. They shall be removed before the court unless the judge decides otherwise for specific security reasons.
Article (89) — Search of an Arrested Person
An arrested person may be searched for weapons, dangerous items or evidence at risk of destruction. Seized items shall be recorded and delivered to the investigating body under chain-of-custody procedures.
Article (90) — Transfer
An arrested person shall be taken directly to the lawful authority named in the warrant or the nearest competent authority for presentation to the judiciary. Transfer to unregistered premises, or retention in a vehicle or field facility beyond the time required for safe transport, is prohibited.
Article (91) — Notification of Family or a Chosen Person
The arrested person shall be enabled without delay to inform a family member or chosen person of their whereabouts and the reason for detention. A judge may delay notification for a strictly limited period where necessary to prevent a specific risk to the investigation or another person, recording the reason and providing a suitable alternative.
Article (92) — Consular Notification
Foreign nationals shall be informed of their right to contact their state's diplomatic or consular mission, and communications shall be facilitated under international conventions in force.
Article (93) — Appearance before a Judge
The arrested person shall appear personally before an investigating judge within twenty-four hours of actual arrest. This period may be extended only once and for necessity permitted by the Constitution. The judge shall record the arrest and appearance times and privately ask about treatment in custody.
Article (94) — Reviewing the Lawfulness of Arrest
The judge shall examine, on their own initiative, the grounds for arrest, place and duration of custody, access to counsel, notification and medical examination, and order immediate release if deprivation of liberty is unlawful or its legal basis has expired.
Article (95) — Pretrial Detention as an Exception
Pretrial detention is an exceptional measure, not a punishment. It may be ordered only on serious, specific grounds involving risks of flight, tampering with evidence, influencing witnesses or committing an imminent serious offence, where a less restrictive measure cannot address the risk.
Article (96) — Reasons for a Detention Order
A detention order shall state the facts and reasons justifying it, alternatives considered and why they are insufficient, its duration, place of execution and the next review date.
Article (97) — Duration of a Detention Order
Each detention order shall not exceed fifteen days. Judicial review shall be substantive rather than automatic, with the detainee and counsel present and applications from the Public Prosecution and defence heard.
Article (98) — Maximum Period before Trial
Total detention before referral and trial shall not exceed a necessary and reasonable period or this Code's limits according to the offence's seriousness. The court shall order release or an alternative if continued detention becomes disproportionate.
Article (99) — Prolonged Detention
Once total detention in a felony case reaches six months, extension requires a higher judicial panel's approval on a reasoned application stating completed procedures, reasons for delay and the period requested. Necessity shall thereafter be reviewed periodically at shorter intervals.
Article (100) — Prohibition of Absolute Mandatory Detention
An offence's legal classification alone is insufficient to require detention. Necessity and proportionality remain matters of individualized judicial assessment, with regard to constitutional provisions and public protection.
Article (101) — Alternatives to Detention
Instead of detention, one or more of the following may be imposed: an undertaking to attend, proportionate bail, a travel ban, surrender of travel documents, prohibition of contact with specified persons, residence at a known address, periodic reporting, or electronic monitoring under a law and special safeguards.
Article (102) — Bail
Bail shall reflect financial capacity and risk of non-attendance and may not result in detention solely because of poverty. The judge may vary it or substitute a non-financial measure.
Article (103) — Conditional Release
Release may be subject to specific, proportionate conditions. Breach triggers review but not automatic detention unless a less restrictive measure is shown to be insufficient.
Article (104) — Vulnerable Groups
Detention decisions shall consider pregnancy, motherhood, responsibility for young children, age, health and disability. Alternatives shall be preferred wherever possible without creating a genuine risk to the investigation or society.
Article (105) — Separation of Detainees
Pretrial detainees shall, as far as possible, be separated from convicted prisoners and treated according to the presumption of innocence. Children shall be separated from adults and women from men under applicable laws and standards.
Article (106) — Place of Detention
Detention may take place only in an official, legally designated facility registered with the state and subject to judicial and health oversight. Establishing or using secret or unacknowledged detention facilities is prohibited.
Article (107) — Challenging Detention
A detainee, counsel or representative may seek review of detention's lawfulness at any time when new facts emerge or its grounds cease. The judge or court shall determine the request urgently.
Article (108) — Compensation for Unlawful Deprivation of Liberty
Release does not prejudice a person's right under law to compensation for unlawful arrest or detention, excessive duration or breach of fundamental safeguards.
Book 6 — Questioning and Prevention of Torture and Enforced Disappearance
Article (109) — Judicial Questioning
The investigating judge or authorized investigator shall conduct questioning according to law, beginning by verifying identity and informing the accused of the charge, essential facts and rights, and allowing adequate time to consult counsel.
Article (110) — Counsel's Attendance
An accused person in a felony or misdemeanour case shall not be questioned without enabling counsel to attend. Where required by law, counsel shall be appointed if none is retained. Proceedings may begin without counsel only for an urgent, non-deferrable measure to protect life, under a reasoned judicial decision and within the narrowest scope.
Article (111) — Confidential Consultation
Communications between the accused and counsel shall be confidential and neither recorded nor overheard. Visual observation for security may be permitted without hearing the content.
Article (112) — Audiovisual Recording
Questioning of the accused shall be audiovisually recorded from beginning to end whenever possible, showing breaks and attendance. Genuine technical inability to record shall be documented, and the record signed in counsel's presence.
Article (113) — Duration of Questioning and Breaks
Questioning sessions shall have reasonable duration and allow rest, food, water and sleep. Prolonged or continuous questioning, or questioning under exhaustion or deprivation intended to break a person's will, is prohibited.
Article (114) — Prohibition of Coercion
Beating, threats, humiliation, exposure to cold or heat, deprivation of sleep, food, medicine or contact, sexual violence or threats thereof, mock execution, isolation to extract information, and any method amounting to torture, ill-treatment or unlawful coercion are prohibited.
Article (115) — Orders Are No Defence
Superior orders, security instructions, war, counter-terrorism, emergencies or public danger do not justify torture, ill-treatment, secret detention or enforced disappearance.
Article (116) — Duty to Intervene and Report
Any official witnessing or credibly learning of torture, ill-treatment or concealment of a detainee's location shall take all lawful measures within their capacity to stop the violation and notify the Public Prosecution or judiciary. Refusing such an unlawful order shall not attract disciplinary punishment.
Article (117) — Torture Allegations before a Judge
Where an arrested person or detainee alleges torture or displays signs raising reasonable suspicion, the judge shall immediately record the allegation, order an independent medical examination, preserve evidence, remove suspects from control over the victim, and open or refer an independent investigation without requiring a formal complaint.
Article (118) — Independent Medical Examination
Examination shall take place beyond the hearing of detaining officials, who may observe only where a justified security need exists. The doctor shall select necessary examinations according to professional practice and submit the report to the judiciary while protecting medical confidentiality.
Article (119) — Documentation of Torture
Torture allegations shall be documented under the latest recognized professional standards, including the Istanbul Protocol, for interviewing, examination, documentation, medical and psychological assessment, and the custody of photographs and samples.
Article (120) — Exclusion of Suspected Officials from Investigation
Anyone credibly accused, personally or through their unit, of torture or enforced disappearance may not participate in investigating the allegation or guarding the victim, witnesses or relevant evidence.
Article (121) — Protection of Complainants against Retaliation
The judge shall immediately protect complainants of torture, enforced disappearance or unlawful detention, their families and witnesses against retaliation or pressure. The place of detention, guarding arrangements or contact with accused persons may be changed according to the assessed risk.
Article (122) — Invalidity of Evidence Obtained by Coercion
No statement, confession or information proven to have been obtained through torture, cruel treatment, threats or coercion is admissible, except against the perpetrator of torture to establish that it occurred. Where coercion is seriously alleged, the prosecution bears the burden of proving that a confession was voluntary.
Article (123) — Incommunicado Detention
A detainee may not be completely denied contact with the outside world. Temporary restrictions on specific contacts require a judicial order, a specific necessity and limited duration, and may not extend to confidential access to counsel, a doctor or the judiciary.
Article (124) — National Register of Deprivation of Liberty
A unified national electronic register shall cover all arrests, pretrial detention, detention sentences, imprisonment and other deprivation of liberty, connecting judicial and implementing authorities. Entry of the data is a necessary condition for continuing lawful custody after the urgent procedure is completed.
Article (125) — Register Data
The register shall contain identity; the time, place and grounds of arrest; the executing body; detention locations and every transfer; the judicial order and its duration; times of questioning, counsel access, medical examinations and visits; and any injury, death, release, transfer or execution of sentence.
Article (126) — Immediate Registration
Arrest shall be recorded as soon as security conditions stabilize, without unjustified delay and always before admission to a detention facility. Deliberate failure to register or recording false data is a serious violation requiring referral for investigation.
Article (127) — Families' Right to Information
A detainee's family or legal representative is entitled to know the detaining body, place, legal basis and competent court. A specific judicial decision may temporarily restrict particular information to protect an investigation or person, but may not conceal the detainee's fate.
Article (128) — Judicial Access to Registers
Judges, the Public Prosecution and legally authorized oversight bodies shall have direct access to the register as necessary for their work. Every access or modification shall be logged to prevent tampering.
Article (129) — Unannounced Detention Facility Inspections
Judges, prosecutors and legally authorized oversight bodies may enter official detention facilities without notice, interview detainees privately, inspect records, premises and conditions, and issue recommendations or orders within their powers.
Article (130) — Report of a Person Missing after Arrest
Where someone alleges that a relative or another person was arrested by an official body or a body acting with its approval and their fate then became unknown, the report shall immediately be registered and urgently investigated. It may not be rejected because the body or location is unidentified.
Article (131) — Order to Locate and Produce a Detainee
On application by an interested person or the Public Prosecution, a judge may immediately order any body to disclose a person's presence, particulars, whereabouts and legal basis of detention and produce them before the judiciary. Compliance is mandatory and immediate; security confidentiality is no bar.
Article (132) — Prohibition of Secret Facilities
Every place where a person is deprived of liberty must be legally established or designated, known to the judiciary and officially registered. An unlawful facility shall be closed immediately upon discovery, detainees transferred to lawful custody and responsibility investigated.
Article (133) — Refusal to Acknowledge Detention
A responsible official's deliberate refusal to acknowledge deprivation of liberty or provide accurate information on a person's fate or whereabouts is an indication requiring investigation of enforced disappearance or unlawful detention under the Penal Code.
Article (134) — No Time Bar on Searching for the Disappeared
Search and fate-clarification procedures shall continue while the person's fate remains unknown. A file may not be closed merely because time has passed or the administrative or security body responsible at the time has changed.
Article (135) — Reparation
Investigative procedures shall preserve victims' rights to compensation, restoration of dignity, rehabilitation and guarantees of non-repetition for torture, enforced disappearance and unlawful detention. A final criminal judgment is not required to seek urgent protective or treatment measures.
Book 7 — Rules of Evidence
Article (136) — Judicial Assessment of Evidence
The court shall assess evidence through reasoned judicial conviction. Conviction requires proof beyond reasonable doubt both of the offence and its attribution to the accused.
Article (137) — Lawfulness of Evidence
Evidence must have a lawful source and method of acquisition. Evidence directly resulting from torture, enforced disappearance or coercion shall be excluded. The court shall assess exclusion of evidence derived from other violations according to the breach's seriousness, its connection to the evidence and exclusion's effect on protecting rights.
Article (138) — Confessions
A confession is subject to assessment and cannot alone establish guilt in a felony without substantial independent corroboration. Its truth shall not be presumed merely because an official body recorded it where voluntariness or the propriety of its circumstances is challenged.
Article (139) — Physical Evidence
Physical evidence is admissible where its relevance and custody integrity are sufficiently established. The expert or examiner shall explain methodology, the limits of the result and the known error rate where relevant.
Article (140) — Scientific Expertise
A scientific or technical result may not be treated as conclusive where its methodology cannot be verified or conflicts with recognized professional knowledge. The court may summon and question the expert.
Article (141) — Hearsay
Hearsay is not absolutely prohibited, but may not be a decisive basis for conviction where its source cannot be tested and adequate reliability safeguards are absent.
Article (142) — Absent Witnesses
Where a material witness cannot attend for a legitimate reason, the court shall consider whether their earlier statement was taken in the defence's presence or an adequate opportunity to challenge it existed, and give specific reasons for its admissibility and weight.
Article (143) — Circumstantial Evidence
Mutually supporting inferences may be relied upon where drawn from established facts and logically leading to the conclusion. A single uncertain inference is insufficient to overcome the presumption of innocence in felony cases.
Article (144) — Digital Evidence
Digital evidence is admissible upon proof of authenticity, integrity, source and extraction circumstances. A screenshot or copy of unknown provenance is insufficient where the original or verification record is available and reasonably obtainable.
Article (145) — Identification Evidence
Identification evidence shall be assessed in light of viewing conditions, elapsed time, presentation procedures, suggestiveness and the confidence first expressed. A witness's confidence alone is not a sufficient measure of accuracy.
Article (146) — Exculpatory Evidence
The prosecution shall disclose reasonably significant exculpatory or mitigating evidence as soon as available. Deliberate or consequential concealment attracts an appropriate procedural sanction and may lead to retrial.
Article (147) — Burden of Proof
The prosecution bears the burden of proving the offence's elements and aggravating circumstances. It may shift to the accused only on specified defence issues prescribed by law, without undermining the presumption of innocence.
Article (148) — Judicial Inspection
The court may conduct a necessary inspection in the parties' presence or after inviting them. Observations shall be recorded and may be documented through photographs, drawings or recordings.
Article (149) — Right to Challenge Evidence
The court shall not convict on material evidence that the defence lacked a real opportunity to inspect and challenge, except for limited protective measures preserving the substance of confrontation.
Book 8 — Concluding Investigations and Referral for Trial
Article (150) — Temporary Closure of Investigation
Where the perpetrator is unknown or evidence temporarily insufficient, the investigation may be closed while preserving evidence and allowing reopening upon new evidence. Temporary closure may not halt investigation of torture or enforced disappearance before reasonable investigative steps are exhausted.
Article (151) — Release for Lack of Evidence
Where the act is not an offence or evidence is insufficient to keep the person detained, the judge shall order immediate release unless the person is lawfully wanted in another case, stating reasons.
Article (152) — Referral Decision
Where evidence is sufficient for referral, the judge shall identify the accused, legal classification, essential facts, evidence supporting the charge, competent court and detention or release status in a referral decision.
Article (153) — Disclosure of the Referral File
The defence shall receive the referral decision, evidence list and a usable copy of the file in time to prepare for trial, subject to judicial protection orders.
Article (154) — Amending Legal Classification before Trial
Legal classification may be corrected or amended before trial where the underlying facts do not change so as to surprise the defence. The accused shall have sufficient time where the amendment requires a new defence.
Article (155) — Severance of Defendants' Cases
Defendants' cases may be severed where joinder harms trial fairness, causes unjustified delay or creates an unmanageable conflict. Related cases may be joined for the proper administration of justice.
Article (156) — Preservation of Evidence after Referral
Responsibility for preserving the evidence file and chain of custody passes to the competent judicial authority. The seizing body may not alter or destroy material after referral without judicial order.
Article (157) — Trial Dates for Detainees
The court shall set an early hearing for a detainee's case and review on its own initiative the grounds for continued detention whenever trial is delayed.
Article (158) — Pretrial Applications
Before trial, parties may submit applications concerning jurisdiction, nullity, exclusion of evidence, protection, disclosure, release and other matters. The court shall give reasoned decisions on issues materially affecting the conduct of hearings.
Article (159) — Settlement of Eligible Offences
Settlement or reconciliation is permitted only for offences allowed by law. The court shall verify voluntary consent, absence of coercion and protection of the victim's and accused's rights.
Book 9 — Trial
Article (160) — Jurisdiction
Before addressing the merits, the court shall verify subject-matter and territorial jurisdiction and the validity of referral. Jurisdiction over felonies, misdemeanours and infractions shall follow judicial organization laws.
Article (161) — Composition of the Court
A judge who previously performed a role in the case compromising impartiality may not hear it. Parties may seek recusal according to law on substantial grounds concerning interest, kinship or a prior opinion on the merits.
Article (162) — Attendance of the Accused
The accused shall ordinarily attend trial. At their request, the court may excuse attendance at some misdemeanour hearings if represented by counsel and confrontation is not impaired. Trial in absentia for a felony is permitted only within legally defined safeguards and exceptions, with an effective right to retrial.
Article (163) — Preparation of the Defence
The accused shall have adequate time and facilities to prepare a defence, including consultation with counsel, file review and summoning witnesses and experts. The hearing shall not begin where delay attributable to authorities has made a practical defence impossible.
Article (164) — Opening the Hearing
The court shall establish the accused's identity and the attendance of the Public Prosecution, defence and any necessary interpreter, clearly read the referral decision, and verify understanding of the charge and rights.
Article (165) — Response to the Charge
The accused shall be asked their response to the charge without compulsion to answer. Denial or silence is neither an aggravating circumstance nor independent evidence of guilt.
Article (166) — Order of Evidence
The prosecution shall present its evidence first, followed by the defence. The court may seek evidence necessary to establish the truth while preserving impartiality and allowing the parties to challenge it.
Article (167) — Examination of Witnesses
Witnesses shall testify before the court and may be questioned by the parties under the presiding judge's management, preventing degrading or irrelevant questions without restricting cross-examination necessary to test credibility.
Article (168) — Witness Protection during Trial
Screens, video links or changes to certain identifying particulars may be used where a genuine risk exists, provided the court can verify identity and the defence has an equivalent opportunity to challenge the substance of testimony.
Article (169) — Presentation of Physical and Digital Evidence
Evidence shall be presented so that parties can examine it and understand its context. A misleading digital excerpt may not be presented without making available the portion necessary to understand it where available.
Article (170) — Experts before the Court
Experts may be summoned to discuss their reports, methodology and independence. The defence may present a contrary expert opinion. Where disagreement is material, the judgment shall explain why one scientific opinion is preferred.
Article (171) — Confessions before the Court
If the accused confesses in court, the court shall verify voluntariness, understanding of the consequences and a factual basis. In felony cases, it remains obliged to assess other evidence.
Article (172) — Changing Legal Classification during Trial
The court may amend legal classification within the referred facts, alerting the accused and granting suitable preparation time if the amendment is more serious or requires new elements.
Article (173) — New Charges
If trial reveals a separate event constituting another offence outside the referral, it shall be referred for investigation through proper procedures. The court may not directly convict for it without charging and preparation safeguards.
Article (174) — Management of the Hearing
The presiding judge may maintain order, protect participants' dignity and prevent influence on witnesses. Measures against attendees or media shall be necessary and proportionate and may not conceal the trial from public scrutiny.
Article (175) — Media Coverage
Filming and broadcasting may be regulated through judicial instructions respecting open justice, parties' rights, witness safety and the dignity of the judiciary. A total ban shall be an exception supported by reasons.
Article (176) — Hearing Record
The record shall state attendance, applications, decisions, material evidence and a summary of submissions. An audiovisual recording may be attached as an official record.
Article (177) — Closing Submissions
The court shall hear the Public Prosecution, then any civil claimant, then the defence. The accused shall have the last word if they wish.
Article (178) — Deliberation
Judicial deliberations shall be confidential and limited to panel members who attended the hearing. No executive official, investigating body member or other person may participate.
Article (179) — Standard for Conviction
Conviction requires the court to be satisfied, on lawful evidence, that every element of the offence is established beyond reasonable doubt. Reasonable doubt shall benefit the accused.
Article (180) — Acquittal
The court shall acquit if the offence or its attribution to the accused is unproven and order the detainee's immediate release unless lawfully held for another reason.
Article (181) — Conviction Judgment
The judgment shall set out the facts, accepted evidence, the accused's defence, the court's response to substantive arguments, the legal basis for conviction, the penalty and civil measures.
Article (182) — Reasons for Judgment
The judgment shall give sufficient reasons to enable the parties and appellate court to review application of law and assessment of evidence. Listing evidence without explaining its reasoning or addressing material inconsistencies is insufficient.
Article (183) — Pronouncement of Judgment
Judgment shall be pronounced publicly. The accused shall be informed in a language they understand of its operative provisions, appeal routes and deadlines. The convicted person and counsel shall receive a copy free of charge.
Article (184) — Sentencing
Following conviction, the court shall apply the Penal Code and special laws and hear submissions on mitigating and aggravating circumstances, victim impact and the convicted person's circumstances before determining the penalty.
Article (185) — Victims' Rights in the Judgment
Within its jurisdiction, the court shall determine applications for compensation, restitution, confiscation and protection, and inform the victim of the outcome and available appeals concerning civil matters or decisions covered by law.
Article (186) — Compensation after Acquittal Following Detention
Acquittal does not by itself prevent application of compensation rules for unlawful detention or miscarriage of justice where their legal conditions are met.
Book 10 — Appeals and Retrial
Article (187) — Right of Appeal
Judgments and decisions are subject to statutory remedies and deadlines. Anyone convicted of a felony must be able to seek review of conviction and sentence before a higher judicial authority.
Article (188) — Challenges to Investigation Decisions
Substantive decisions of the investigating judge may be challenged in cassation, particularly arrest, detention, extension, release, search, exclusion of evidence and closure of investigation, within statutory periods.
Article (189) — Effect of an Appeal on Detention
An appeal does not stay a release order unless the higher judicial authority decides otherwise for specific, exceptional reasons. Appeals concerning liberty shall be determined urgently.
Article (190) — Appeal or Cassation
Judicial laws shall identify the authority competent to review misdemeanour and felony judgments. Review covers legal and procedural errors and factual assessment to the extent permitted by law.
Article (191) — No Detriment to a Sole Appellant
Where only the convicted person appeals, their position may not be worsened because of that appeal unless the Public Prosecution or another legally entitled party files a valid cross-appeal.
Article (192) — Appeal in the Interests of the Law
The Public Prosecution may appeal in the interests of the law under its governing law, without prejudicing the accused's positions established by final judgment except where constitutionally and legally permitted.
Article (193) — Correction of Clerical Errors
The court may correct clerical and arithmetical errors that do not affect the judgment's substance, notifying the parties where correction affects enforcement.
Article (194) — Retrial
Retrial may be sought when substantial new evidence emerges; forged evidence or perjury affecting the judgment is established; a confession is proven to have been obtained by torture; irreconcilable judgments exist; or other statutory grounds arise.
Article (195) — Torture as a Ground for Retrial
Where a judgment or authoritative independent investigation establishes that material evidence supporting conviction was obtained through torture or coercion, this is grounds for retrial even if not all torture perpetrators can be identified.
Article (196) — Stay of Enforcement Pending Retrial
The competent authority may stay enforcement where strong grounds favour granting retrial. Consideration shall be urgent where the convicted person is deprived of liberty.
Article (197) — Acquittal upon Retrial
If retrial results in acquittal or reversal of conviction, the earlier judgment's effects shall be removed according to law and the convicted person released immediately unless another basis for custody exists.
Article (198) — Compensation for Miscarriage of Justice
The law shall regulate compensation claims by persons whose convictions are reversed because of a miscarriage of justice or unlawful evidence, preserving the state's recourse against an intentionally culpable official or perpetrator under general rules.
Article (199) — Finality of Judgments
Judgments become final when remedies are exhausted or their deadlines expire. After a final acquittal, the same facts may not be retried against the same person except within exceptional constitutional and statutory limits and with stringent safeguards.
Article (200) — Notification of Appeal Decisions
Appeal decisions shall be served on the accused, counsel, the Public Prosecution and other entitled persons, stating the outcome and its effect on detention or enforcement.
Article (201) — Electronic Appeal File
Appeal files may circulate electronically through a secure judicial system preserving document integrity and filing deadlines and allowing parties to track appeal status under Supreme Judicial Council rules.
Article (202) — Constitutional Review
Where a serious constitutional challenge concerns a provision necessary to determine the case, prescribed procedures before the Federal Supreme Court shall be followed without unnecessary impairment of the detainee's rights.
Article (203) — Implementation of Decisions of Competent International Courts
Within constitutional and legal limits, Iraq's binding obligations and binding decisions of competent international bodies concerning trial safeguards and deprivation of liberty shall be observed.
Book 11 — Enforcement of Decisions and Judicial Cooperation
Article (204) — Enforcement of Judgments
No penalty or measure depriving liberty may be enforced without a final or enforceable judicial instrument identifying the convicted person, penalty, duration and commencement date for calculation.
Article (205) — Credit for Pretrial Detention
Pre-sentence detention shall count towards a custodial sentence according to law. Every period of deprivation of liberty shall be entered in the enforcement register to prevent overstay.
Article (206) — Timely Release
The enforcing body shall release a person immediately when the legal basis for deprivation of liberty expires. Administrative delay or absence of a paper letter cannot justify continued custody where the decision can be judicially verified through the official system.
Article (207) — Public Prosecution Oversight of Enforcement
The Public Prosecution shall monitor enforcement and the lawfulness of continued custody of prisoners and detainees, inspect registers and challenge detention exceeding its term or contravening the judgment.
Article (208) — Transfer of Convicted Persons
Transfers of convicted persons within Iraq or under international agreements shall respect their rights, safety and the legal basis for transfer. Transfer to an authority where serious fears exist of torture or enforced disappearance is prohibited contrary to binding obligations.
Article (209) — International Judicial Assistance
Judicial assistance in criminal matters shall be provided and requested under applicable conventions and laws and reciprocity where permitted, respecting fundamental rights and evidence integrity.
Article (210) — Extradition
Extradition requests shall follow constitutional and legal rules and conventions in force. Extradition shall be refused where substantial grounds indicate a risk of torture, enforced disappearance or an unfair trial that reliable assurances cannot remedy.
Article (211) — Foreign Evidence
Evidence collected abroad is admissible if obtained under the executing state's law and by methods compatible with fundamental Iraqi legal safeguards. The court shall assess whether it can be challenged.
Article (212) — Joint Investigation Teams
Joint investigation teams for transnational offences may be established by lawful decision or agreement. The establishing instrument shall define jurisdiction, each member's powers and rules for exchanging evidence and data.
Article (213) — Asset Recovery
International freezing, seizure and confiscation shall require judicial orders and comply with law, protecting good-faith third parties and allowing appeals.
Article (214) — Transfer of Proceedings
Criminal proceedings may be transferred to or accepted from another state where this better serves justice and is legally permitted, preventing double trial for the same act under binding obligations.
Article (215) — International Service
Service and requests for testimony shall proceed through approved judicial, diplomatic or central-authority channels. Video communication may be used with legal safeguards.
Article (216) — Data Protection in International Cooperation
Personal data or evidence may be transferred abroad only for a specific lawful purpose with appropriate use, retention and destruction safeguards. Reuse for another purpose shall be restricted to what consent or agreement and law permit.
Book 12 — Transitional and Final Provisions
Article (217) — Relationship with the Penal Code
Substantive offence definitions and penalties shall follow the Penal Code and special penal laws. This Code is confined to procedures and safeguards unless it expressly establishes a procedural consequence.
Article (218) — Relationship with the Public Prosecution Law
Public Prosecution powers under Law No. (49) of 2017 remain effective insofar as consistent with this Code and shall be interpreted to strengthen oversight of the lawfulness of deprivation of liberty, investigation and enforcement.
Article (219) — Relationship with the Legal Aid Law
Legal Aid Law No. (7) of 2024 governs the appointment and provision of legal aid services. Arrest and pretrial detention periods shall receive priority in service provision.
Article (220) — Relationship with the Witness Protection Law
Protection of Witnesses, Experts, Informants and Victims Law No. (58) of 2017 and its regulations and instructions apply, supplemented by this Code's urgent judicial measures.
Article (221) — Relationship with the Inmates' Rehabilitation Law
Inmates and Detainees Rehabilitation Law No. (14) of 2018 governs conditions in correctional institutions without diminishing judicial and prosecutorial authority to verify the lawfulness and conditions of custody.
Article (222) — Juveniles
Children are subject to the Juvenile Welfare Law or applicable Juvenile Justice Law as special legislation. This Code applies where compatible and to the extent that it provides greater safeguards.
Article (223) — Special Laws
Procedures under special penal laws apply insofar as consistent with constitutional safeguards and this Code's fundamental rules. No special provision shall be interpreted as permitting torture, secret detention or denial of judicial oversight to an accused person.
Article (224) — Repeal of the Previous Code
Criminal Procedure Code No. (23) of 1971 and its amendments are repealed upon this Code's entry into force. Valid decisions and procedures taken under it retain their effects unless a new rule better protects the accused's procedural rights without prejudicing settled legal positions.
Article (225) — Existing Orders
Arrest, detention and search orders issued before entry into force remain valid for their remaining periods under the former law. Any subsequent review or extension shall follow this Code.
Article (226) — Pending Cases
Courts shall continue pending cases from their existing stage. New rules apply immediately to subsequent procedures unless this would extinguish an acquired right or pointlessly repeat a valid procedure.
Article (227) — National Register
Within six months of publication, the Supreme Judicial Council, coordinating with competent bodies, shall establish requirements for the national register of deprivation of liberty, its security, data integration and access permissions. All detaining bodies shall connect within a timetable not exceeding twelve months from the instructions' entry into force.
Article (228) — Audiovisual Recording
The judiciary and Ministries of Interior and Justice shall develop a phased plan to equip questioning and investigation rooms with audiovisual recording, beginning with the most-used facilities, detainee cases and serious offences. Lack of equipment may not excuse abandonment of other safeguards.
Article (229) — Training
Competent judicial and executive bodies shall train judges, prosecutors, investigators, law enforcement personnel, legal aid lawyers and health workers in this Code, safeguards against torture and enforced disappearance, and digital evidence preservation.
Article (230) — Instructions
The Supreme Judicial Council and competent executive bodies may, within their powers, issue implementing instructions within one hundred and eighty days of publication. Instructions may not impose a restriction on a right or freedom absent from the Code.
Article (231) — Budget and Resources
Funding for the national register, audiovisual recording, legal aid, forensic medical examinations and evidence preservation shall be included in existing bodies' annual budgets. Reuse of existing infrastructure and systems shall take priority, avoiding unnecessary parallel administrative bodies.
Article (232) — Public Reports
The Supreme Judicial Council, coordinating with the Public Prosecution, shall publish an annual statistical report without personal data, covering numbers and durations of arrest and detention orders, release applications, torture allegations, deaths in custody and outcomes, allowing assessment of system integrity without compromising case confidentiality.
Article (233) — Protection of Systems and Registers
Attempts to destroy, alter or conceal national register data, questioning recordings or judicial orders to hide detention or a violation must be reported immediately to the Public Prosecution, with backups and audit logs preserved.
Article (234) — Legislative Evaluation
Three years after entry into force, the Supreme Judicial Council, coordinating with the Public Prosecution and relevant bodies, shall report to the Council of Representatives on practical implementation, procedural effects and legislative needs. This shall not suspend any right or safeguard.
Article (235) — Entry into Force
This Code enters into force ninety days after publication in the Official Gazette, except provisions requiring transitional technical systems, which shall apply within their specified periods. Constitutional safeguards concerning liberty, defence and prevention of torture remain applicable from publication.
Statement of reasons
To modernize criminal procedure consistently with the Constitution of the Republic of Iraq; guarantee defence rights, the presumption of innocence and effective judicial oversight of arrest and pretrial detention; unify rules for investigation, trial and modern evidence; prevent torture, secret detention and enforced disappearance; regulate digital evidence, chain of custody and audiovisual recording; and connect these safeguards with the laws on the Public Prosecution, legal aid, witness protection and inmates' rehabilitation, this Code is enacted.
Explanatory memorandum
1. Why a New Code Rather than Partial Amendment?
The 1971 Code serves as the central criminal procedure code, but amendment article by article does not resolve its accumulated structural problems or clearly integrate constitutional rights, policing, judicial investigation, detention, trial and digital evidence. The proposed Code therefore replaces it comprehensively, with an orderly transition preserving valid earlier procedures and avoiding disruption of pending cases.
2. Arrest and Pretrial Detention
The bill shifts emphasis from the mere existence of a criminal classification to necessity and proportionality. Summonses are the default wherever possible; pretrial detention rests on specific risks such as flight, interference with evidence or influencing witnesses. At every extension, the judge must review whether those risks persist and explain why alternatives are insufficient.
3. Prevention of Torture
The bill goes beyond restating the constitutional prohibition, turning it into enforceable safeguards: counsel from the outset, recorded questioning, confidential medical examination, documented injuries, reporting duties, separation of the suspected body from the investigation, and exclusion of coerced evidence. Visible injuries or a serious allegation suffice to trigger judicial action without awaiting a formal complaint.
4. Prevention of Enforced Disappearance
The central safeguard is that no person can exist “outside the system”. Every arrest, detention, transfer and release is therefore linked to a unified national register directly accessible for judicial and prosecutorial oversight. The bill also empowers the judge to urgently order disclosure of the person, location and detention grounds and production before the court, prohibiting concealment of this information on security-confidentiality grounds.
5. Digital Evidence and Privacy
The bill sets practical limits on searches of devices, data and communications, distinguishing seizure of a device from entitlement to examine all its contents. It requires a defined judicial warrant, a digital chain of custody, protection of incidentally collected data and defence access to the forensic copy and methodology.
6. Trial and Appeal
The bill ties conviction to proof “beyond reasonable doubt”, requires reasons and responses to substantive defence arguments, and strengthens rights to challenge evidence and obtain review by a higher judicial authority. Proof that material evidence was extracted through torture becomes an express ground for retrial.
Alignment with Existing Legislation
| Reference | Response in the Bill |
|---|---|
| Criminal Procedure Code No. 23 of 1971, as amended | Repeal and replacement after a transitional period; earlier procedures remain valid unless a new safeguard requires immediate application. |
| Public Prosecution Law No. 49 of 2017 | Retain the institution and its powers while strengthening oversight of detention, enforcement and investigations into violations. |
| Protection of Witnesses, Experts, Informants and Victims Law No. 58 of 2017 | Retain as a special law and supplement with urgent judicial powers to protect participants during proceedings. |
| Inmates and Detainees Rehabilitation Law No. 14 of 2018 | Retain correctional institution management provisions while emphasizing the priority of judicial oversight over the lawfulness of deprivation of liberty. |
| Legal Aid Law No. 7 of 2024 | Connect early defence rights with existing legal aid services rather than creating a parallel defence institution. |
| Penal Code and special penal laws | Remain responsible for defining offences and penalties; this Code governs investigation, evidence, trial and enforcement procedures. |
Transitional Provisions and Implementation Requirements
Full legal implementation requires two parallel tracks. The first is legislative and judicial and can apply immediately: reasons for detention orders, access to counsel, oversight of detention facilities, independent torture investigations and exclusion of unlawful evidence. The second is technical and requires an orderly transition: the unified national register, audiovisual recording, electronic files and audit logs.
Success does not require a new institution, but effective integration among the Supreme Judicial Council, the Public Prosecution, Interior, Justice, forensic medicine and legal aid. The bill therefore requires a timetable for technical connection and prioritizes existing systems, while preventing equipment shortages from suspending fundamental safeguards.
Financial and Implementation Implications
The financial impact arises principally from four items: developing the national register of deprivation of liberty and connecting existing bodies; equipping questioning rooms for audiovisual recording; increasing independent forensic medical examination capacity; and funding legal aid during arrest and detention. Public sources lack unified data for a reliable national figure without a government inventory of existing infrastructure, so the bill avoids spurious precision.
The Code requires competent bodies to inventory technical infrastructure, cameras, systems, investigation rooms and personnel during preparation of instructions, then budget each body's establishment and annual operating costs. Existing government infrastructure and integration with judicial, Interior and Justice systems can reduce costs compared with separate platforms.
Relevant International Standards
The design draws on liberty and fair-trial principles in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the absolute torture prohibition and exclusion of statements extracted through torture under the Convention against Torture; and registration and fate-and-whereabouts disclosure requirements under the Convention on Enforced Disappearance. Medically, it adopts independent professional documentation reflecting the updated 2022 Istanbul Protocol, without substituting the Protocol for national legislation.
It also draws on comparative approaches that base pretrial detention on reviewable individual risk, expand alternatives, confine digital searches to a defined scope and require audiovisual recording of questioning wherever resources permit.
Sources and references
- Constitution of the Republic of Iraq 2005 — Supreme Judicial Council. https://www.sjc.iq/view.77/
- Iraqi Constitution — Iraqi Council of Representatives. Iraqi Constitution — Council of Representatives
- Criminal Procedure Code No. 23 of 1971, as amended — The Iraqi legislative reference in force; a translated/consolidated version is available from UNODC and Refworld. https://www.refworld.org/legal/natleginstr/natlegbod/1971/150887
- Public Prosecution Law No. 49 of 2017 — Supreme Judicial Council. https://www.sjc.iq/view.4700/
- Protection of Witnesses, Experts, Informants and Victims Law No. 58 of 2017 — Ministry of Justice. https://www.moj.gov.iq/view.3194/
- Inmates and Detainees Rehabilitation Law No. 14 of 2018 — Ministry of Justice. https://www.moj.gov.iq/view.3877/
- Legal Aid Law No. 7 of 2024 — Ministry of Justice. https://www.moj.gov.iq/view.8853/
- Treaty Bodies Database — Iraq's Status, OHCHR; includes Iraq's accession to the Convention against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and its non-accession, as of the update date, to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/countries.aspx?CountryCode=IRQ
- Convention against Torture — Iraq's Accession, United Nations Treaty Collection. https://treaties.un.org/Pages/showActionDetails.aspx?clang=_en&objid=08000002802e250f
- International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance — Iraq's Accession, United Nations Treaty Collection. https://treaties.un.org/Pages/showActionDetails.aspx?clang=_en&objid=08000002802b0d9a
- Committee against Torture, List of issues prior to submission of the third periodic report of Iraq, CAT/C/IRQ/QPR/3, 23 May 2025. https://documents.un.org/access.nsf/get?DS=CAT/C/IRQ/QPR/3&Lang=E&Open=
- Committee on Enforced Disappearances, Additional information submitted by Iraq under article 29(4), CED/C/IRQ/AI/2, 18 November 2024. https://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=8vMdXA135DSj7P6lTfddYxTN%2BnlX9oRjKn8%2Bn5WuNSjm7102wL9gp53fcLOY3RtPSR%2FkRpuZOT6wEpRrlGHj%2Fw%3D%3D
- Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 35 — Article 9: Liberty and security of person. https://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=9JW1tJOQ1Coin5kUXbMaNpU3rJLDvn1rcQFYbybAOWkhVAJ99Ht8Yplx9RY8CR2a1PsFfTNwQHJQdTjgTj%2BvzQ%3D%3D
- Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 32 — Right to equality before courts and tribunals and to a fair trial. https://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=tOTVOeXHk1b9yDrmrRrzfmbNCmBxacm8huBKi%2BJWxC5nzHkO3n%2FPLnbknFmXqfWIXu4b1xnLkC5Y21Uq%2F2vhgVQfDmpq8hAySMWRJclrPik%3D
- Istanbul Protocol — Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture, OHCHR, 2022. https://searchlibrary.ohchr.org/record/30353
- National Strategy for Strengthening the Rule of Law in the Republic of Iraq 2025–2029 — Ministry of Justice. https://www.moj.gov.iq/view.10338/
Ali Zuweid's Political Programme · POL-15 · Republic of Iraq