Ali Zuweid's Political Programme
Proposed bill · Education, Scientific Research, Culture, Youth and Sport
Culture, Arts and Cultural and Creative Industries Law
Executive Summary
Iraq possesses exceptional cultural and historical weight and longstanding publishing, theatre, cinema, music, arts, book, document and children's culture institutions. However, contemporary cultural activity is governed by fragmented legislation from different periods. Ministry of Culture Law No. (17) of 2001 remains a core legal reference; copyright law dates to 1971, the Artists' Syndicate Law to 1969 and the National Library Law to 1961. Public institutions such as the General Cultural Affairs House and Cinema and Theatre Department operate through public-company structures and organisational regulations originating in the 1990s or earlier. Meanwhile, the official governmental name is now the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, whose modern structure is not fully reflected by the 2001 law alone.
The bill proposes a framework law for culture, arts and cultural and creative industries. Antiquities and heritage are not merged into it: antiquities, cultural property and tangible and intangible heritage are addressed specifically in POL-71. Copyright law is likewise not rewritten, as intellectual property reform is addressed in POL-47. This Law organises cultural rights, public policy, financing, institutions, the creative economy, access, digitisation and relations between the state, creators and markets.
The first principle is creative independence. The Ministry shall not prescribe taste or demand political content in exchange for support. Restrictions must be constitutionally and legally prescribed, necessary, proportionate and challengeable. The bill replaces general prior censorship with subsequent legal accountability, age classification, safety, property rights and public-space rules.
The second principle separates cultural support from direct administration. A national grants programme within the Ministry's budget shall distribute resources through competitions, expert panels and conflict-of-interest disclosure, with streams for production, development, translation, touring, children's culture, digitisation and creative industries. Funding is not recovered merely because work lacks commercial or critical success where the project was implemented in good faith: cultural grants finance public value and creativity that inherently involve risk.
The third principle transforms culture from a limited spending portfolio into a measurable economic sector without reducing its value to financial output. The law defines cultural and creative industries, provides incubators, accelerators, finance and procurement suited to creative work, and calls for cultural economic accounts and employment, trade and production data. It also protects public cultural institutions from profit requirements that undermine their public mission.
The fourth principle modernises existing institutions rather than creating parallel bureaucracy. The General Cultural Affairs House, Cinema and Theatre Department, Children's Culture House, libraries and cultural centres need reviewed service, financing and internal regulation models, not destruction of institutional memory. The bill provides a transition to review outdated provisions and purposes inconsistent with the 2005 Constitution, separate cultural public service from commerce and preserve archives, brands and collections.
Internationally, the bill draws on UNESCO's 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which Iraq joined in 2013. It recognises states' right to policies supporting diverse expression and cultural industries while requiring human rights, freedom of expression, openness and diversity. The document translates these principles into implementable Iraqi grant, institution, digital market and governorate culture rules.
Constitutional and Legal Context
The Iraqi Constitution guarantees expression, journalism, assembly and association within the law and establishes a pluralistic society in which culture cannot be reduced to one official discourse. Iraq's ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity also makes cultural expression protection part of the constitutional framework of equality, rights and freedoms rather than merely a state recreational activity.
Ministry of Culture Law No. (17) of 2001 separated the Ministry from the Ministry of Information and assigned cultural, artistic and tourism powers. The current government structure operates as the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, and the Iraqi Gazette continued publishing statements under this name through 2025 and 2026. The gap between historical institutional law and present organisation ultimately requires an updated ministry law. This document need not reorganise tourism or antiquities, which are addressed through separate legislation.
Copyright Protection Law No. (3) of 1971 and its amendments remain the principal intellectual property reference and are listed among Iraq's main IP laws in WIPO Lex. Comprehensive reform, particularly digital rights, collective management and new technologies, lies beyond this document. POL-70 therefore requires cultural institutions to respect rights and contracts while referring substantive IP architecture to POL-47.
The Artists' Syndicate Law dates to 1969 with subsequent amendments; the National Library's legal foundations date to 1961 and document preservation to 1983. The General Cultural Affairs House and Cinema and Theatre Department also operate under historical public-company and organisational models. These institutions hold expertise, assets and archives that should be preserved, but need alignment with digital culture, creative markets and modern constitutional pluralism.
Iraq joined UNESCO's 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in July 2013. It gives states space to support cultural activities, goods, services and independent industries while linking this to expression, information, human rights, equitable access and openness. This balance is the Law's most direct international reference.
The Legislative Gap
Fragmented legal framework: Culture operates through old, dispersed laws. Some public institutions still follow purposes or administrative forms drafted under political and economic conditions preceding the current Constitution.
No clear cultural rights law: General constitutional freedoms exist, but no modern framework defines creative freedom, cultural access, non-discrimination and funding without content interference.
Uncoordinated cultural funding: Support may flow through institutions, festivals, printing or separate events without a stable national system of competitive grants, assessment, disclosure and evaluation.
Weak separation of public service and commerce: Some cultural institutions are classified as self-financing public companies although their main mission is a potentially unprofitable public cultural service. This may push them to measure success through revenue rather than cultural impact.
An unmeasured creative economy: Publishing, design, music, cinema, digital games, advertising and creative crafts are economic activities, but lack of unified classification and data makes them less visible in economic policy, investment and finance.
Geographical concentration: Much funding, activity and institutional infrastructure is concentrated in the capital and major centres, while governorates need needs mapping, local cultural plans and funding for access and touring.
Digital transformation: Institutions need digital preservation, access, data, AI, archiving and digital material rights rules, issues absent from most older laws.
Proposed Legislative Policy
- Rights first: Creative freedom, access, diversity and non-discrimination are legal principles, not administrative privileges.
- No regulation of taste: Restrictions require specific law; age classification, safety and accountability become the principal regulatory tools.
- Grants at arm's length from political decisions: Expert panels, published criteria, conflicts-of-interest rules and reasons for outcomes.
- Modernise institutions rather than multiply them: Review existing companies and departments, separating public service from commercial activity.
- Culture as both economy and public value: Measure creative industries and support entrepreneurship without making every cultural institution a profit-making venture.
- Governorates within national policy: Local plans, tours, multifunctional centres and shared public facilities.
- Digital transformation as access and preservation rights: Sustainable digitisation, interoperability, security, privacy and accessibility for persons with disabilities.
- Separation from POL-71 and POL-47: Antiquities, heritage and intellectual property retain specialised legislation with clear complementary links.
Text of the Bill
In the name of the people
Presidency of the Republic
On the basis of what the Council of Representatives has approved and the President of the Republic has ratified, and pursuant to the Constitution, the following law is enacted:
Culture, Arts and Cultural and Creative Industries Law
Chapter One — General Provisions and Cultural Rights
Article (1) — Definitions
For this Law, the following expressions have these meanings. First — Ministry: the federal Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities or its lawful successor in cultural competence. Second — Culture: the totality of expression, creativity, knowledge, practices, values and cultural and artistic products created by individuals, groups and society. Third — Arts: literature, music, theatre, cinema, visual, plastic and performing arts, design and other artistic creation. Fourth — Cultural and creative industries: activities originating in creativity, knowledge or cultural expression that produce goods or services capable of production, distribution, circulation or exhibition, including publishing, books, music, cinema, digital games, design, fashion, architecture, performing and visual arts, creative crafts and others specified by regulation. Fifth — Artist or creator: a natural person producing, performing or substantially participating in artistic or cultural work. Sixth — Cultural worker: anyone practising a profession or technical, administrative or production role related to the cultural sector. Seventh — Cultural institution: a public, private or non-profit entity whose main activity is cultural or artistic. Eighth — Cultural grant: competitive or direct non-repayable public support for a cultural work, institution or project under published conditions. Ninth — Creative incubator: a programme or space providing professional, production or commercial development services to cultural and creative enterprises. Tenth — Digital culture: creating, producing, preserving, distributing and accessing cultural content through digital technologies.
Article (2) — Objectives
This Law aims to guarantee cultural rights and creative freedom; protect cultural and linguistic diversity; develop arts and creative industries as social and economic sectors; establish fair grants and support; modernise public cultural institutions; support artists, creators and independent workers; expand governorate access; develop books, music, cinema, theatre, visual arts and design economies; support children's culture; develop digital cultural infrastructure; and balance creative independence with public-money accountability.
Article (3) — Scope
This Law covers cultural and artistic policies, programmes and institutions, creative industries and public cultural financing under federal authorities and governorates not incorporated into a region. It complements rather than replaces antiquities, heritage, intellectual property, media, education, labour and company laws.
Article (4) — Right to culture
Everyone may participate in cultural life, access arts and knowledge and choose forms of cultural expression with which to engage, within the Constitution, law and others' rights. The state shall remove unjustified barriers to public cultural institutions and programmes.
Article (5) — Creative freedom
Literary and artistic freedom is protected within the Constitution and law. Cultural or artistic work shall not be prohibited or its exhibition or publication stopped by an unreasoned administrative decision outside express statutory powers. Restrictions must be necessary, proportionate and judicially challengeable.
Article (6) — No general prior censorship
No general prior censorship of books, artworks or performances shall be established merely for differences of opinion, taste or political or social criticism. Age classification, safety, property rights, public-space use and statutory restrictions protecting specific rights may be regulated only to the minimum necessary extent.
Article (7) — Cultural diversity
Cultural policy shall respect Iraq's ethnic, linguistic, religious, regional and artistic diversity. Public resources shall not impose a single partisan or sectional identity. Public programmes shall provide reasonable opportunities for diverse expression, considering quality, need and reach.
Article (8) — Languages and local expressions
Public bodies may support publishing, performances and production in Iraq's languages, dialects and local expressions, preserving Arabic, Kurdish and other constitutional languages and rights. Targeted support for less widespread expression is not discriminatory where it protects diversity and access.
Article (9) — Independence from political propaganda
Grants, facility use or programme participation shall not require political or partisan positions or praise for public bodies or officials. Public cultural institutions shall not serve electoral propaganda except as law permits on equal terms.
Article (10) — Equitable access
The state shall consider differences between Baghdad, governorates, districts and subdistricts when distributing programmes, facilities and grants, paying particular attention to underserved areas, children, women, persons with disabilities, young people and independent creators.
Article (11) — Accessibility
Public cultural institutions shall progressively make buildings, performances, publications and digital services accessible to persons with disabilities, including sign language interpretation, audio description, subtitles and readable materials where possible.
Article (12) — State cultural responsibility
The state shall focus on legal conditions, fair funding, infrastructure, preservation and access, without monopolising cultural production, determining public taste or replacing independent initiatives and the private sector.
Chapter Two — Governance and Cultural Policy
Article (13) — National cultural policy
Government shall adopt an updatable five-year national culture and creative industries policy, with measurable participation, production, reach, creative economy, digital transformation, geographical access and rights protection objectives.
Article (14) — Cultural Coordination Council
A council chaired by the Minister shall include government, governorate, public cultural institution, creative sector, civil society and expert representatives. Its role is coordination and advice, not replacement of ministerial, syndicate or union powers.
Article (15) — Ministry responsibilities
The Ministry shall formulate federal cultural policy, manage subordinate institutions, regulate public cultural finance, develop cultural and creative industries, collect data, coordinate internationally and set public cultural facility management standards.
Article (16) — Governorate responsibilities
Governorates not incorporated into a region shall develop local programmes, centres, libraries and events within lawfully transferred powers and prepare cultural plans reflecting residents' needs and diversity, following transparency, safety and access standards.
Article (17) — Coordination with regions
Regional authorities shall be coordinated with on cultural exchange, festivals, statistics, artistic mobility and mutual programme recognition where appropriate, without prejudice to constitutional powers.
Article (18) — Governorate cultural plans
Each governorate shall periodically map institutions, spaces, artists, activities and gaps, prioritise maintenance, programming and access, and publish implementation and spending indicators.
Article (19) — Cultural consultation
The Ministry and governorates shall consult artists, writers, institutions, creators and communities on widely consequential policies or regulations and publish principal views and how they were addressed.
Article (20) — National register of cultural institutions
The Ministry shall maintain an information register of registered cultural institutions, centres, theatres, cinemas, galleries, publishers, public libraries, groups and entities. Registration is not a condition for individual cultural expression unless linked to a public benefit or specific licence.
Article (21) — Cultural data
With statistical and competent authorities, the Ministry shall collect employment, production, expenditure, audience, cultural trade and facility data, protect personal data and publish an annual state-of-culture report.
Article (22) — Cultural economic accounts
The Ministry of Planning, statistical authorities and Ministry shall develop creative industry economic accounts or indicators within national accounts to estimate output, employment, trade and investment contributions under a published methodology.
Article (23) — Impact assessment
Major support programmes and heavily publicly funded institutions shall undergo periodic effectiveness, access, cost and impact evaluation. Event or attendance numbers alone do not establish success.
Chapter Three — Cultural Financing and Grants
Article (24) — Cultural financing programme
A unified cultural and creative grants and support programme shall be established within the Ministry's budget without separate legal personality. Published streams shall cover production, development, distribution, touring, festivals, translation, digitisation, children's culture and creative innovation.
Article (25) — Grant principles
Grants shall follow artistic independence, equal opportunities, transparency, conflict-of-interest rules, proportionality and geographical and cultural diversity, without imposing political or artistic content on recipients.
Article (26) — Open competition
Competitive grants shall be the rule where programme nature permits. Direct funding may support a public institution, a clearly justified national project or an emergency, with publicly stated reasons for the exception.
Article (27) — Assessment panels
Expert panels with periodically rotating membership and interest disclosure shall assess applications. Members shall not assess their own, relatives', partners' or materially connected institutions' applications.
Article (28) — Assessment criteria
Criteria and weights shall be published beforehand and, according to programme, cover artistic or cultural value, feasibility, access, experience, diversity, impact and budget. Fame or public relations shall not serve as undisclosed criteria.
Article (29) — Decision and explanation
Applicants shall receive results and summary reasons or scores while protecting assessors' professional opinions and privacy. Procedural errors or conflicts may be challenged without reassessing artistic taste itself.
Article (30) — Instalments
Grants may be paid against production or delivery milestones. Reporting shall be proportionate to value and project type, and financial procedures shall not make small grants unusable.
Article (31) — Small grants
A simplified stream shall serve initiatives, individuals and smaller groups with proportionate ceilings and accounting. Payments may pass through a host organisation or civil contract where groups lack legal personality.
Article (32) — Governorate grants
A share of grants may target projects outside Baghdad, or a geographical multiplier address demonstrated access gaps, retaining quality and need criteria.
Article (33) — Development grants
Research, development, writing, training, artistic residencies and prototypes may be funded before full production, enabling development without an immediate commercial product requirement.
Article (34) — Distribution support
Funding may cover translation, marketing, touring, exhibitions, digital platforms, subtitles and audio description, since production without audience access does not fulfil cultural policy goals.
Article (35) — Financial transparency
The Ministry shall annually publish public grant recipients, amounts, purposes and bodies or governorates, except information whose publication creates security risks or unlawful privacy violations.
Article (36) — Grant recovery
Grants or unspent portions shall be recovered for established fraud, unauthorised expenditure or unjustified non-delivery through reasoned, challengeable decisions. Commercial or critical failure alone shall not trigger recovery where projects were delivered in good faith.
Chapter Four — Artists, Creators and Cultural Workers
Article (37) — Recognition of cultural work
Cultural and creative work is recognised as professional and economic activity, whether permanent, temporary, independent or project-based. Intermittent work shall not deny labour or social security rights where relevant legal conditions are met.
Article (38) — Written contracts
Professional contracts exceeding regulatory monetary or duration thresholds must be written, specifying remuneration, duration, intellectual property, performance or image rights, termination, expenses and insurance where appropriate. Standard contracts shall not transfer all creators' rights without compensation or reasonable temporal and subject-matter limits.
Article (39) — Fair pay
Public bodies shall set indicative pay and honorarium standards for artists, writers, translators and technicians. They shall not demand free work at publicly funded events unless participation is genuinely voluntary and declared as such.
Article (40) — Timely payment
Public and private bodies shall pay contractual dues on time. Public contracts may provide lawful late-payment interest or compensation to limit transfer of financing burdens to independent artists.
Article (41) — Independent work
Tax, social security and labour systems shall account for independent cultural workers' irregular income. Competent authorities shall develop flexible registration and contribution mechanisms under tax and social security laws without unjustified blanket exemptions.
Article (42) — Occupational safety
Safety and health requirements apply to filming locations, theatres, workshops, studios and events. Lighting, electrical, height, special effects, noise, chemical and crowd risks shall be assessed according to the work.
Article (43) — Harassment and abuse
Harassment, violence, exploitation and extortion are prohibited in cultural institutions and projects. Government-funded bodies shall provide complaints and anti-retaliation protection under applicable labour, penal and procedural laws.
Article (44) — Minors in artistic work
Children's artistic participation requires education, rest, safety and privacy safeguards and legal representative consent. Dangerous or exploitative scenes or tasks and hours conflicting with compulsory education are prohibited. Juvenile employment rules apply where relevant.
Article (45) — Moral and economic rights
Copyright, performers' and related rights shall be respected under copyright and related legislation. This Law creates no parallel IP system; it requires clear contracts and respect for rights and licences.
Article (46) — Collective rights management
Collective management bodies shall meet IP law licensing, transparency and governance requirements and disclose distribution rules, commissions and costs. Syndicate or union membership does not replace rights authorisation.
Article (47) — Training and development
The Ministry, institutions, syndicates and universities may provide professional development in cultural management, production, digital technology, finance, marketing, IP and safety, considering governorates' and young creators' needs.
Article (48) — Artistic mobility
Competent bodies shall facilitate administrative procedures for artists, works and equipment travelling to domestic and international festivals and exhibitions within customs, migration, tax and security laws, without blanket legal exemptions.
Chapter Five — Public Cultural Institutions and Facilities
Article (49) — Cultural public service principle
Public cultural institutions shall serve audiences, preserve memory and support creativity and access, not be measured solely by profit or revenue. They may earn lawful revenue and redirect it to activities and maintenance under financial management laws.
Article (50) — Theatres and cinemas
The Ministry and governorates shall manage theatres and cinemas through operating plans, annual programmes, maintenance, safety and accessibility. Independent groups may rent at published, fair prices, with time reserved for public and youth programmes.
Article (51) — Art galleries
Public galleries shall publish acquisition, exhibition, loan, insurance and artistic assessment policies, prevent conflicts, and prohibit purchasing from panel members or relatives without disclosure and independent procedures.
Article (52) — Public libraries
Libraries shall serve reading, knowledge, cultural activity and digital access, developing shared lending networks and catalogues and services for children and persons with disabilities, while preserving the National Library and Archives' separate competence.
Article (53) — National Library and Archives
The National Library and Archives remains subject to national library and document preservation laws and their successors. Antiquities, heritage and document legislation governs deposit, preservation and archival details. This Law ensures integration with publishing, access and cultural digitisation policy only.
Article (54) — Children's Culture House
The Children's Culture House or successor shall continue children's publishing, content and programmes, updating rules for children's rights, pluralism, digital safety and modern professional standards. Partisan propaganda in programmes is prohibited.
Article (55) — Cinema and Theatre Department
The Ministry shall review the Department's and related companies' or units' legal and financial status, separate cultural public service from commerce, and modernise production, private sector collaboration, asset management and rights in works.
Article (56) — General Cultural Affairs House
The Ministry shall review financing and management of the General Cultural Affairs House and other self-financing cultural publishing companies, separating public cultural support from commerce and removing outdated provisions or purposes inconsistent with the current Constitution, while preserving archives, brands and publications.
Article (57) — Al-Ma'mun House and translation
The state shall support translation to and from Arabic and Iraq's languages through institutions and grants, with transparent selection of works and translators and copyright rules, encouraging independent publisher partnerships rather than institutional monopoly.
Article (58) — Cultural centres
Multifunctional governorate centres may be established or developed with libraries, halls, workshops or exhibition spaces. Establishment must respond to service gaps and operating plans, not construction alone.
Article (59) — Asset management
Each medium or large public cultural facility shall have annually reviewed asset records, maintenance, safety and accessibility plans, operating costs and revenues. New facilities require identified operating and maintenance funding.
Article (60) — Shared use
Public buildings, schools, universities and youth centres may host cultural activities outside primary use times under agreements protecting safety, property and education, expanding access at minimum capital cost.
Chapter Six — Books, Publishing, Translation and Libraries
Article (61) — Publishing freedom
Writing, publishing and distribution are free under the Constitution and law. Books and cultural publications require no general prior content approval, subject to deposit, numbering, IP and subsequent liability for statutory violations.
Article (62) — Legal deposit
The Ministry and National Library and Archives shall modernise legal deposit for publications, books and digital materials. Relevant law or instructions shall specify copies, formats, deadlines and exemptions to preserve national holdings without burdening small publishers.
Article (63) — Standard numbering
Competent bodies shall facilitate standard numbers and identifiers for books, periodicals and published works and link them to national catalogues. Registration shall not censor content.
Article (64) — Publishing support
Writing and publishing of literary, scientific or cultural value, or work not commercially justified alone, may receive competitive support or announced public purchasing, with author and publisher rights defined by contract.
Article (65) — Library book purchasing
Public libraries shall publish purchasing policies balancing quality, diversity, reader needs and local publishing, preventing favouritism towards particular publishers or authors.
Article (66) — Book fairs
Book fairs shall follow published participation, service pricing, exemption, security and safety rules and open competition between local and international publishers, protecting diversity and choice.
Article (67) — Translation
Translation programmes shall support literature, thought, humanities and arts moving to and from Iraq, considering quality, copyright and reach, with dedicated Iraqi literature translation into world languages.
Article (68) — Digital books
Digital publishing, e-books and audiobooks shall enter support and deposit policies. Access, long-term preservation and library licensing standards shall be developed with copyright respected.
Article (69) — Reading culture
Culture and education ministries and local institutions shall coordinate public reading, school libraries, clubs and competitions without propaganda. Impact shall be measured through lending, participation and access, not event counts alone.
Article (70) — Independent libraries
Independent libraries and reading initiatives delivering public cultural services may receive competitive support or local partnerships without administrative subordination to the Ministry.
Chapter Seven — Cinema, Theatre, Music and Visual Arts
Article (71) — Cinema policy
The Ministry shall develop a national cinema policy covering production, training, locations, cinemas, archiving, distribution and festivals, separating artistic support from technical licensing or content control.
Article (72) — Filming permits
Filming permits in public spaces or government premises shall concern site management, safety, security, fees and services, not general content approval. Decision deadlines, refusal grounds and objection rights shall be specified.
Article (73) — Age classification
Clear age and content classification shall protect children and guide audiences. Total bans shall be exceptional, legally grounded, reasoned and challengeable.
Article (74) — Production incentives
Film and audiovisual production in Iraq may receive grants, incentives or partial spending rebates under financial, artistic, economic and cultural criteria, with ceilings and local spending, employment and disclosure conditions.
Article (75) — Theatre
The state shall support national and local theatre, independent companies, touring productions and school and university theatre, providing public theatres under published schedules and fees and respecting safety and professional rights.
Article (76) — Music
Music policy shall include non-formal education, ensembles, recording, concerts, archiving, digital distribution and musical diversity, with performance rights and licensing governed by IP law.
Article (77) — Visual arts
Exhibitions, residencies, workshops and public acquisitions shall use independent artistic panels and price and interest disclosure. Public art collections shall be registered with condition and location.
Article (78) — Art in public space
A limited portion of certain major public building or space costs may fund artworks or cultural design where budget or project law allows. Selection requires competition, assessment and local participation; it shall not apply to every construction project.
Article (79) — Festivals
Publicly funded festivals require published budgets, artistic and administrative governance and attendance and impact evaluation. Annual funding shall not continue automatically without review.
Article (80) — Cultural tours
Theatre, music and travelling exhibitions between governorates and rural areas may be supported, prioritising works expanding access beyond usual centres.
Article (81) — Audiovisual archiving
Competent bodies shall preserve original and digital films, recordings, performances and nationally valuable works under archival standards, coordinated with the National Library and Archives and IP and heritage laws.
Chapter Eight — Cultural and Creative Industries and the Cultural Economy
Article (82) — Sector definition
The Ministry, Planning and economic bodies shall establish a statistical creative-industry list including, according to nature, publishing, music, cinema, audiovisual work, performing and visual arts, design, fashion, digital games, architecture, creative crafts, advertising and digital cultural content. Listing shall not change sector-specific professional licensing.
Article (83) — Creative business environment
Competent bodies shall simplify small creative business establishment, contracts, payments, exports and temporary equipment imports, applying company, labour, tax and investment laws according to activity without unjustified privileges.
Article (84) — Incubators and accelerators
Creative incubators and accelerators may be established or supported with universities, private sector and civil society, providing training, space, mentoring, market access and finance. Public grants shall follow transparent competition.
Article (85) — Access to finance
The Ministry shall coordinate with small-enterprise programmes, banks and funders on instruments suited to irregular creative income and intangible assets. Budget-law guarantees or development grants may be provided without open-ended financial commitments.
Article (86) — Markets and exhibitions
The state shall support platforms, markets and commercial and cultural exhibitions connecting creators with domestic and international buyers, preventing monopolies or undisclosed charges at government-supported events.
Article (87) — Cultural exports
The Ministry, Trade, Foreign Affairs and economic bodies shall facilitate international creative-industry participation through translation, exhibitions, touring, marketing, logistics and IP, respecting cultural and heritage property export laws.
Article (88) — Local content
Lawful measures may enhance Iraqi cultural content availability on platforms and markets consistently with the Constitution and international obligations, without censorship or quotas harming choice or competition except under justified legislation.
Article (89) — Public creative procurement
Public bodies may procure design and artistic, cultural and creative production through procedures considering quality and portfolios alongside price, with published criteria, qualified panels and conflicts prevention.
Article (90) — Intellectual property
The Ministry shall coordinate with the IP authority on creator awareness, licensing and rights and contract enforcement. Comprehensive copyright and related-rights reform belongs in specialised IP legislation and shall not be duplicated here.
Article (91) — Competition and platforms
Competition and consumer protection apply to cultural distribution, platform, ticketing and service markets. Regulators may examine practices denying creators or audiences fair market access.
Article (92) — Independent creative work
Labour, Finance and Culture ministries shall adapt administrative procedures for freelancers and small creative businesses to intermittent income, invoicing and short contracts while retaining legal, tax and social security obligations.
Article (93) — Economic measurement
Periodic data shall report establishments, employment, value added, exports and investment, clarifying methodology limits and distinctions between purely cultural and supporting activities.
Chapter Nine — Digital Culture, Platforms and Preservation
Article (94) — Cultural digital transformation
The Ministry shall develop public cultural digitisation covering catalogues, booking, ticketing, archiving, remote access and collection management, using open interoperability standards and avoiding single-supplier lock-in.
Article (95) — Digitisation
Fragile, rare or highly requested material shall receive priority under plans preserving originals and producing suitable-quality copies and metadata. Digitisation does not replace physical preservation where originals must be retained.
Article (96) — Digital access
Public institutions shall make legally available digital books, images, recordings and cultural materials accessible, respecting copyright, privacy and lawful restrictions and stating each item's rights status.
Article (97) — Public cultural platforms
A unified discovery portal may cover content, events, institutions, tickets and grants without replacing specialised sites or monopolising private distribution. Basic data shall be exchangeable through open interfaces.
Article (98) — Data protection
Digital cultural services shall follow personal data protection, cybersecurity, purpose limitation and minimisation rules. Audience or creator data shall not serve marketing or political targeting without lawful grounds and consent where required.
Article (99) — AI in culture
Institutions may use AI for cataloguing, translation, description, discovery and administration, with human verification of consequential decisions, copyright and data protection, and disclosure where attributing generated content to a public institution could mislead audiences.
Article (100) — Digital restoration
Digital restoration of recordings, images, films and cultural documents may be used while preserving originals and documenting interventions. Materially altered versions shall not be presented as historical originals.
Article (101) — Digital sustainability
Institutions shall plan format migration, backups, file integrity checks and long-term retention, not rely on one commercial platform for the sole copy of a public cultural asset.
Article (102) — Digital accessibility
Cultural websites and services shall follow approved disability access standards including alternative text, captions, keyboard navigation and contrast.
Article (103) — Children's digital culture
Children's digital content shall follow child protection, privacy, advertising and safe design rules. Institutions shall collect no more data than necessary for participation in activities or competitions.
Chapter Ten — Children's and Youth Culture and Community Participation
Article (104) — Children's right to culture
The state shall provide age-appropriate books, music, theatre, arts and creative activities respecting children's dignity, expression and participation, coordinated with families, schools and competent institutions.
Article (105) — Libraries and reading for children
Public libraries shall provide children's and young people's spaces, programmes and materials, support early reading, clubs and accessible books, and train staff in child protection.
Article (106) — School theatre and arts
Culture and education authorities shall support school theatre, music, visual arts and creative writing without turning activities into propaganda or replacing official curricula.
Article (107) — Talent
Talent discovery and development may use competitions, camps, workshops and artistic residencies with published selection criteria and opportunities beyond major cities.
Article (108) — Youth participation
Cultural centres and institutions shall encourage youth involvement in programme, event and digital content design. Major institutions may form youth advisory councils without unauthorised administrative or financial powers.
Article (109) — Community culture
Governorates, municipalities and institutions may support reading clubs, groups, local festivals, workshops and neighbourhood and village activities through simplified funding proportionate to small initiatives.
Article (110) — Culture in care settings
Cultural and artistic programmes may operate in hospitals, care homes, correctional centres and prisons with competent approval, safety and beneficiary rights, without substituting for treatment or formal education.
Article (111) — Cultural volunteering
Institutions may accept volunteers under the Youth, Volunteering and Community Service Law, but not as permanent substitutes for library, museum, theatre or essential service staff.
Article (112) — Inter-governorate exchange
The state shall support exchange of exhibitions, books, performances and artists across governorates to reduce concentration and develop regular touring by public institutions and supported works.
Article (113) — Temporary spaces
Unused spaces, markets, squares and temporary buildings may host cultural activities under clear safety and use permits, expanding activity at minimal construction cost.
Chapter Eleven — International Cultural Relations and Mobility
Article (114) — Cultural diplomacy
The Ministry and Foreign Affairs shall coordinate exchanges, exhibitions, cultural weeks, translation and tours. International participation shall reflect cultural value, public interest and published criteria, not favouritism.
Article (115) — Iraqi cultural centres abroad
Centres abroad may be established or supported where needs and feasibility studies show audiences and a sustainable cultural diplomacy role. Budgets and appointments shall be audited and periodically evaluated.
Article (116) — Hosting artists
The state shall facilitate hosting foreign artists, writers, researchers and groups under entry, labour and tax laws and develop clear procedures for short artistic visits and festivals.
Article (117) — Movement of works and equipment
Customs and culture authorities shall simplify temporary entry of equipment and non-heritage works for exhibitions, filming and concerts under return guarantees, separately from protected antiquities and cultural property rules.
Article (118) — Exchange and translation
Priority shall go to reciprocal exchange and translating Iraqi works into other languages, not merely ceremonial events of limited impact.
Article (119) — International exhibitions
Institutions and creators shall participate in international book and art fairs and creative markets under transparent cost, selection and reporting rules. Approved programmes may reimburse part of creative export expenditure.
Article (120) — The 2005 Convention
The Ministry shall implement Iraq's UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions obligations and prepare required periodic reports with civil society and cultural-sector consultation, making them public.
Article (121) — International cultural cooperation
International cooperation and grant programmes may support capacity, cultural infrastructure and creative industries under applicable laws. Projects shall enter a public register to prevent duplication and sustain results after external funding ends.
Chapter Twelve — Oversight, Grievances and Final Provisions
Article (122) — Public-money oversight
Public cultural institutional funds, grants and contracts are subject to competent oversight and the Federal Board of Supreme Audit within its powers. Artistic independence does not exempt financial accountability.
Article (123) — Grievances
Anyone adversely affected by grant, facility-use, programme approval, classification or administrative decisions may seek review by a body other than the original decision-maker and then judicial appeal under law.
Article (124) — Conflicts of interest
Grant, acquisition, festival and procurement panel members shall disclose interests and material relationships, refrain from decisions where conflicts exist and document recusals.
Article (125) — Integrity
Bribery, favouritism, selling participation opportunities and exploiting grants, tickets, acquisitions or contracts for unlawful private benefit are prohibited. Criminal matters shall be referred to competent bodies.
Article (126) — Annual report
The Ministry shall publish annual cultural spending, grants, projects, institutions, geographical participation, economic and digital indicators, access and complaints, separating antiquities and heritage data into relevant reports.
Article (127) — Independent evaluation
Every five years, cultural policy, grants, public institutions and creative industries shall be independently evaluated. Findings shall go to the Council of Ministers and Council of Representatives and be published with government responses.
Article (128) — Ministry of Culture Law
Ministry of Culture Law No. (17) of 2001 remains effective insofar as consistent with this Law until an updated Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities law reflects the current structure. Older instructions with wording or purposes contrary to the 2005 Constitution and applicable rights and freedoms shall be repealed or amended.
Article (129) — Copyright law
Copyright Protection Law No. (3) of 1971 and amendments remain effective until replaced or amended through comprehensive IP reform. This Law's financing or publishing provisions do not authorise protected work use without consent or statutory exception.
Article (130) — Artists' Syndicate Law
Artists' Syndicate Law No. (129) of 1969 and amendments remain effective. Membership is not a general condition for creative freedom or cultural grants under this Law, while statutory regulated-profession requirements remain.
Article (131) — Library and document laws
Amended National Library Law No. (51) of 1961, Document Preservation Law No. (70) of 1983 and related regulations remain effective, with modern heritage and document legislation addressing conflict or organisational obsolescence.
Article (132) — Antiquities and heritage
This Law does not regulate excavation, antiquities, sites or protected cultural property governed by specialised laws and conventions. Coordination concerns cultural exhibition, education and creative economy only, without affecting protection powers.
Article (133) — Regulations and instructions
The Council of Ministers shall issue implementing regulations on proposals from the Ministry and competent bodies. The Ministry shall issue grant, institution, creative economy, data, age-classification and facility instructions within twelve months of publication.
Article (134) — Transition plan
Within six months, the Ministry shall plan alignment of existing cultural institutions, companies and units, reviewing old internal rules, financing models, assets, contracts and public-service functions without interrupting programmes or losing archives or rights.
Article (135) — Entry into force
This Law takes effect six months after Official Gazette publication. Creative freedom, non-discrimination, transparency, conflicts-of-interest and child protection provisions apply from entry into force; transition shall be completed within specified periods.
Statement of Reasons
This Law is enacted to guarantee cultural rights and creative freedom, protect diversity, modernise policy and institutions consistently with Iraq's Constitution, organise transparent and artistically independent financing and grants, develop arts, creative industries, the cultural economy and digital transformation, support sector workers and creators, expand access in governorates and underserved groups, and implement Iraq's international cultural diversity obligations.
Explanatory Memorandum
1. Why a cultural framework law rather than only a new ministry law?
Ministry restructuring is necessary but insufficient. Creator rights, grants, public institutions, creative industries, independent work, access and digitisation also require attention. This bill provides the sector framework, leaving ministry-law reform to complementary institutional legislation reflecting the final government structure without reopening cultural principles whenever a ministry is renamed or a body attached.
2. Why no independent arts council or new fund?
Artistic decisions should be independent of political pressure, but new authorities and funds are not the only route. A budget grants programme with rotating expert panels, disclosure, grievances and public reporting can achieve this. If implementation later shows a need for a legally independent council, an amendment can establish it after cost and effectiveness data become available.
3. Limits of creative freedom
Creative freedom does not confer immunity from law, but rejects general administrative prohibition based on differing opinions or taste. Works are normally published or shown freely, with relevant laws applied to specific violations and children protected through age classification, venue, safety and rights rules. This differs fundamentally from officials deciding whether work is ‘acceptable’ before it appears.
4. Why should grants bear creative risk?
Requiring assured commercial success would exclude experimentation, non-commercial literature, local theatre and translation. Accountability therefore concerns implementation, money and integrity, not popularity. Market failure or negative criticism does not justify recovery where obligations were met.
5. Public cultural companies
Publishing, cinema and theatre may generate revenue, but wholly self-financed public institutions may abandon low-return public-value work. The Law therefore asks which activities are public services deserving budget funding and which are commercial activities requiring clear accounts and competition.
6. Creative industries
UNESCO's 2005 Convention expressly allows support for independent cultural industries and access to production and distribution. In Iraq, this can bring designers, musicians, publishers, filmmakers, game developers and digital creators into measurable economic policy instead of limiting culture to government events.
7. Culture and intellectual property
Creators need clear rights, but duplicating copyright law within cultural legislation creates conflicts. The bill respects rights and fair contracts while leaving protection terms, exceptions, related rights, collective management and enforcement to IP reform.
8. Separation from antiquities and heritage
Intangible heritage may inspire contemporary creativity and antiquities support education and exhibition, but site, collection, excavation and illicit-export protection requires another system. POL-70 therefore sets no excavation, possession or restitution rules; these remain in POL-71.
Cultural Funding Model
| Instrument | Purpose | Safeguard |
|---|---|---|
| Production grant | Complete a work, performance, book or film | Artistic assessment + budget + payment milestones |
| Development grant | Research, writing, prototype and residency | No immediate commercial product required |
| Access and distribution grant | Translation, touring, marketing and accessibility | Clear access indicators |
| Small grant | Individual and emerging group initiatives | Simplified accounting |
| Institutional support | Continuing cultural service | Performance agreement and annual report |
| Cultural procurement | Books, works, design and production | Published selection and conflict-of-interest rules |
The Cultural Economy and Creative Industries
Defining creative industries does not impose a new licence on every creator; it makes the sector visible to statistics, finance, investment and trade. Without establishment, workforce, output and export figures, the state cannot identify disappearing jobs or regulations hindering market growth.
These industries differ from traditional manufacturing. Many assets are rights, content, brands and reputation, and income is intermittent and project-based. The bill therefore permits incubators, finance, guarantees, export programmes and procurement valuing quality alongside price, while company, labour, tax and competition laws remain the general reference.
Public Cultural Institutions
The bill does not assume every old institution should close. It asks each unit whether it provides public services, trades, archives and preserves, produces culture or regulates. Answers allow separation of budgets and commercial income, removal of old organisational purposes and modernised boards and internal rules.
The National Library and Archives retains its legal competence; Children's Culture House keeps its specialist role with updated child-rights standards. The General Cultural Affairs House, Cinema and Theatre Department and other public-company units undergo transitional review to distinguish publicly funded services from transparently commercial operations.
Digital Culture
Digital transformation goes beyond scanning books or posting on social media. Cultural institutions need cataloguing and preservation standards, sustainable formats, backups, digital rights, disability access and interoperability enabling data transfer when suppliers change. This particularly matters for films, recordings, images and documents that can disappear despite a digital copy if not professionally preserved.
The Law treats AI as assistance for cataloguing, description, translation and discovery, with IP and data protection and human verification. Public institutions may not present generated content as a historical document or original human work when it is not.
Alignment with Existing Legislation
Ministry of Culture Law No. (17) of 2001: Remains temporarily effective, but the current Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities structure requires updated legislation. This bill does not settle tourism or antiquities organisation; it establishes the cultural framework subsequent institutional law must respect.
Copyright Protection Law No. (3) of 1971 and amendments: Remains the rights reference, to be updated through POL-47. Cultural institutions may not treat grants or public participation as automatic rights waivers.
Artists' Syndicate Law No. (129) of 1969 and amendments: Remains effective for syndicate affairs. Membership is no general condition for cultural participation or grants because creative freedom exceeds professional membership.
National Library Law and Document Preservation Law: Remain effective for preservation and archives, while POL-70 focuses on cultural access, publishing, digitisation and institutional integration.
Labour, company, tax, competition and procurement laws: Apply to cultural workers, enterprises and contracts according to their nature. ‘Cultural’ status gives no general exemption from economic or legal obligations.
Antiquities and Heritage Law: Remains separate; POL-71 addresses tangible and intangible protection, property restitution, sites and relevant conventions.
Transitional Provisions
Transition begins with legislative and institutional inventory, not closures. The Ministry shall review laws, internal regulations and founding statements, identify pre-constitutional provisions requiring repeal or replacement, and map public service, commerce, assets and archives.
- Within 6 months: Form review teams, launch the institutional register and prepare grant regulations.
- Within 12 months: Operate competitive streams, publish basic institution and grant data and adopt facility management standards.
- Within 18 months: Complete review of the General Cultural Affairs House, Cinema and Theatre Department, Children's Culture House and other institutions with older rules.
- Within 24 months: Submit an updated Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities bill if not already enacted, and necessary amendments beyond the reach of instructions.
Financial and Implementation Impact
No reliable national cost can be estimated before collecting current Ministry, public company, governorate, festival and institutional cultural spending data. The bill therefore provides neither falsely precise figures nor a fixed budget percentage.
New costs centre on grants, digitisation and digital preservation, accessible facilities, theatre and centre maintenance, data, touring and governorate support, and creative economy incubators. Substantial reform may be funded by redirecting existing spending from repetitive events or unmeasured support to competitive programmes and sustainable assets.
Public cultural institutions must separately account for public-service allocations and commercial income. This reveals true cultural service costs rather than assigning non-profit missions and judging them by profit.
Financial rule: No major new cultural facility without operating and maintenance costs; no permanent annual festival without evaluation; no public grant without recipient and purpose disclosure. Cultural success, however, is not measured by financial revenue alone.
International Framework
Iraq joined UNESCO's 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in 2013. It recognises cultural activities, goods and services as carriers of identity, values and meaning and permits regulatory and financial measures supporting production, distribution and independent industries, while requiring expression, information, human rights, equitable access and openness to other cultures.
Grant, creative industry, diversity, access and international cooperation provisions align with the Convention. The Ministry must prepare periodic reports with civil society and cultural-sector consultation. The Convention does not justify content censorship: it recognises that diversity requires guaranteed fundamental freedoms.
The 2003 Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention and other heritage conventions remain important for Iraq, but their core subject is addressed in POL-71. This Law concerns connections between heritage expression, contemporary creativity, cultural industries and public access.
Sources and References
- Constitution of the Republic of Iraq, 2005 — Iraqi Council of Representatives
Constitutional basis for rights, freedoms, equality, cultural diversity and expression.
https://iq.parliament.iq/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%82%D9%8A/ - WIPO Lex — Ministry of Culture Law No. (17) of 2001
Existing ministry law and latest version available in WIPO Lex.
https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/ar/legislation/details/10963 - Ministry of Culture Law No. (17) of 2001 — Iraqi Legislation Database
Arabic textual reference for original ministerial purposes and structure.
https://wiki.dorar-aliraq.net/iraqilaws/law/1177.html - Ministry of Justice — Copyright Protection Law No. (3) of 1971 and amendments
Official reference for applicable copyright law and amendments.
https://moj.gov.iq/view.6400/ - WIPO Lex — Iraq intellectual property legislation profile
Lists Copyright Protection Law No. (3) of 1971 among Iraq's principal IP laws.
https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/ar/members/profile/IQ - Iraqi Artists' Syndicate — Syndicate Law No. (129) of 1969 and amendments
Professional reference for existing law, membership, purposes and artistic fields.
https://ias.org.iq/laws-and-regulations/ - National Library Law No. (51) of 1961
Historical legal basis for national library collection, preservation, cataloguing and knowledge access.
https://wiki.dorar-aliraq.net/iraqilaws/law/403.html - First Amendment to the National Library Law, No. (2) of 1979
Reference for updating the Library's attachment to the Ministry of Culture.
https://wiki.dorar-aliraq.net/iraqilaws/law/9460.html - National Library and Archives — Institutional overview
Reference for the institutional history of the National Library and National Documentation Centre and their unification.
https://iraqnla.gov.iq/aiqsam%20aldaar.html - Document Preservation Law No. (70) of 1983
Legislative reference for national documents and the National Documentation Centre.
https://wiki.dorar-aliraq.net/iraqilaws/law/19090.html - General Cultural Affairs House — About us
Official institutional and legal history reference describing a public cultural production company.
https://darculture.gov.iq/%D8%B9%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%B4%D8%B1/mn-nhn.html - Ministry of Justice — Iraqi Gazette issue 4742 of 2023
Documents the 2023 amendment to the Cinema and Theatre Department public company's founding statement, confirming continuing need to modernise its legal and operating model.
https://www.moj.gov.iq/view.7586/ - Children's Culture House Instructions No. (3) of 1998
Reference for the House's old organisation and children's publishing and cultural programme functions.
https://wiki.dorar-aliraq.net/iraqilaws/law/16954.html - UNESCO – Iraq: Conventions ratified
Documents Iraq's accession to the 2005 Cultural Diversity Convention and deposit of its accession instrument in July 2013, alongside other cultural conventions.
https://www.unesco.org/en/countries/iq/conventions - UNESCO – Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005)
Binding international framework for cultural diversity, policy, cultural and creative industries, expression and access.
https://www.unesco.org/en/legal-affairs/convention-protection-and-promotion-diversity-cultural-expressions - UNESCO – Diversity of Cultural Expressions, updated 23 February 2026
Recent reference connecting 2005 Convention implementation to public policy and dynamic, inclusive creative industries.
https://www.unesco.org/en/diversidad-expresiones-culturales - UNESCO – Iraq periodic report under the 2005 Convention
Documents Iraqi cultural policy context and emphasis on rights, diversity, infrastructure and industries.
https://media.unesco.org/sites/default/files/webform/dce002/QPR_2018_IQ_622a0f95-20b5-4964-b13d-9f0fdadce29b_12.pdf - UNESCO – Iraq Intangible Cultural Heritage profile
Reference for Iraq's living cultural expressions and registered and ongoing element files, distinguished from detailed heritage regulation in POL-71.
https://ich.unesco.org/en/state/iraq-IQ - Ministry of Justice — Iraqi Gazette issues 2024–2025 and Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities statements
Documents continued use of the current institutional name in published official statements.
https://www.moj.gov.iq/view.8920/
Priority goes to Iraqi legal sources and official treaty databases. UNESCO sources interpret cultural diversity obligations and creative policy; antiquities, heritage and IP protection are referred to associated specialist legislation.