| Federal Supreme Court of Iraq | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Established | 2005 |
| Jurisdiction |  Iraq |
| Location | Green Zone,Baghdad |
| Composition method | seeComposition |
| Authorised by | Constitution of Iraq, Executive Order (No. 30 of 2005) as amended by Federal Supreme Court Law (No. 25 of 2021) |
| Judge term length | Mandatory retirement at age 72 |
| Number of positions | 9 |
| Website | iraqfsc.iq |
| President | |
| Currently | Mundhir Ibrahim Hussein[1] |
| Since | 31 June 2025 |
TheFederal Supreme Court of Iraq[a] (FSC) is a financially and administratively independent judicial body and one of Iraq’s twoapex courts. As the final court of appeal having the exclusive jurisdiction to interpret the provisions of theConstitution of Iraq, it effectively functions as theconstitutional court.
In addition to determining the constitutionality of laws and regulations, FSC reviews the application of federal laws, as well as settles disputes between thefederal government,federal regions,governorates, municipalities, and local administrations. It also settles accusations directed against thePresident, thePrime Minister and theMinisters, and ratifies the final results of the general elections for theCouncil of Representatives.[2] Since 2024, the court has expanded its authorities to include the power to amend regional legislation, such as those passed by theKurdistan Region Parliament.[3][4]
The Federal Supreme Court Law No. 25 of 2021, gives the heads of the following: Supreme Judicial Council, Federal Supreme Court, Public Prosecutor’s Department, and Judicial Oversight Commission together complete autonomy in selecting and designating the court’s members by including a clause that permits bypassing thePresident in case the presidential decree for the selected members is not issued regardless of the reason.[5]
FSC is composed of a president, a deputy, and seven primary members. The law also stipulates that proportional representation of the main components ofIraqi society must be guaranteed in the court's composition.[6] In practice, this has meant that it is composed of fiveShi’i Arabs, twoSunni Arabs, and twoKurds.
In 2005, the Prime Minister of theInterim Iraqi Government,Ayad Allawi, issued an executive order titled Executive Order (No. 30 of 2005), granting the FSC extensive powers to determine the constitutionality of legislative and regulatory acts, arbitrate disputes between Baghdad and the regions andgovernorates, validate parliamentary election results, and assert exclusive jurisdiction over prosecutions against top government authorities. The court was also given several guarantees of independence, including at the administrative and financial levels. Due to the fact that the Supreme Court at the time was established by an executive order before the adoption of the new Iraqi constitution and the subsequent formation of theCouncil of Representatives, a separate law passed by the Council (by supermajority) that formally defines the court’s status was required to be passed, per Article 92 of the Constitution of Iraq.[7] However, in June 2021, after a string of failed attempts to reach a compromise between Iraqi political parties representing different components of the society, the Council of Representatives nevertheless passed a law (Federal Supreme Court Law No. 25 of 2021) that amended the previous executive order that defined the FSC, notably, without the required supermajority.
