Iraq
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- federal parliamentary democracy
- CONSTITUTION
- ratified on October 15, 2005 (currently under review by the Constitutional Committee and likely to be subject to a referendum in the future)
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on European civil law and Islamic law
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- Council of Representatives
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- according to the constitution, the federal judiciary includes the High Judicial Council, the Federal Supreme Court, the Federal Court of Cassation, the Public Prosecutor's Department, the Judicial Oversight Commission, and other federal courts
RELIGIONS
97% Muslims; Christian and Hindu minorities
From the country
Iraq: Al-Sulaymaniyah reformatory holds 14 women on death row
AUGUST 2, 2026IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: DEATH SENTENCE ISSUED OVER KILLING OF BASRA ANTI-CRIME OFFICER
JULY 2, 2026IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: DEATH SENTENCE AGAINST THE ‘ANFAL EXECUTIONER’ AL-TIKRITI UPHELD
APRIL 20, 2026IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: ISIS MEMBER SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER ATTACK ON SECURITY FORCES
Iraq’s Central Criminal Court on April 14, 2026 sentenced an ISIS member to death
APRIL 19, 2026IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: 11 ISIS MEMBERS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR PLOTTING ATTACKS ON STATE
Iraq's Central Criminal Court sentenced 11 members of an ISIS cell to death on April 7, 2026 for plotting attacks on state institutions.
- APRIL 15, 2026IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ: BAGHDAD COURT MANDATES DEATH FOR FIVE DRUG TRAFFICKERS
An Iraqi court has sentenced five drug traffickers to death after convicting them of possessing large quantities of narcotics, the Supreme Judicial Council revealed on April 15, 2026.
FEBRUARY 23, 2026IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: ALLEGED ISIS DETAINEES TRANSFERRED FROM SYRIA AT RISK OF ABUSE
The United States transferred 5,700 detainees held for alleged ISIS affiliation from Northeast Syria to Iraq, where they are at risk of enforced disappearance, unfair trials, torture, ill-treatment, and violations of the right to life, Human Rights Watch
- FEBRUARY 10, 2026IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ EXECUTES FORMER SENIOR OFFICER UNDER SADDAM FOR 1980 KILLING OF SHIA CLERIC
Iraq announced on February 9, 2026 that a high-level security officer during the rule of Saddam Hussein had been hanged for his involvement in the 1980 killing of a prominent Shia cleric.
- DECEMBER 28, 2025IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ HANDS DEATH SENTENCE TO EX-BAATH OFFICER OVER BARZANI CRIMES
Iraq’s High Criminal Court on December 28, 2025 sentenced former Baath-era security commander Shaker Ghafour Al-Douri to death after convicting him of participating in mass executions targeting Kurdish Barzani civilians.
- DECEMBER 3, 2025IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ: THREE DRUG DEALERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
A court in Baghdad sentenced three alleged drug dealers to death after they were found in possession of 18 kilograms of narcotics, The New Region reported on November 30, 2025.
- NOVEMBER 25, 2025IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ: EX-OFFICIAL SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER DEADLY OFFICE CLASH
An Iraqi court sentenced the former director of Baghdad’s Agriculture Department to death for his role in armed clashes that killed a security officer and a civilian, leaving others wounded, the Supreme Judicial Council said on November 25, 2025.
NOVEMBER 3, 2025IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: TWO DRUG TRAFFICKERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
An Iraqi court on November 3, 2025 sentenced two convicted drug traffickers to death, after they were caught in possession of 102 kilograms of Captagon and an additional 96 kilograms of hashish.