Section Six. Final and Transitional Provisions
Chapter One. Final Provisions
Article 126
First
The President of the Republic and the Council of the Ministers collectively, or one-fifth of the Council of Representatives members, may propose to amend the Constitution.
Second
The fundamental principles mentioned in Section One and the rights and liberties mentioned in Section Two of the Constitution may not be amended except after two successive electoral terms, with the approval of two-thirds of the members of the Council of Representatives, the approval of the people in a general referendum, and the ratification by the President of the Republic within seven days.
Third
Other articles not stipulated in clause “Second” of this Article may not be amended, except with the approval of two-thirds of the members of the Council of Representatives, the approval of the people in a general referendum, and the ratification by the President of the Republic within seven days.
Fourth
Articles of the Constitution may not be amended if such amendment takes away from the powers of the regions that are not within the exclusive powers of the federal authorities, except by the approval of the legislative authority of the concerned region and the approval of the majority of its citizens in a general referendum.
Fifth
- An amendment is considered ratified by the President of the Republic after the expiration of the period stipulated in clauses “Second” and “Third” of this Article, in case he does not ratify it.
- An amendment shall enter into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
Article 127
The President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, members of the Council of Ministers, the Speaker of the Council of Representatives, his two Deputies, members of the Council of Representatives, members of the Judicial Authority, and people of special grades may not use their influence to buy or rent any state properties, to rent or sell any of their assets to the state, to sue the state for these assets, or to conclude a contract with the state under the pretense of being building contractors, suppliers, or concessionaires.
Article 128
The laws and judicial judgments shall be issued in the name of the people.
Article 129
Laws shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall take effect on the date of their publication, unless stipulated otherwise.
Article 130
Existing laws shall remain in force, unless annulled or amended in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.
Article 131
Every referendum mentioned in this Constitution is deemed successful with the approval of the majority of the voters unless otherwise stipulated.
Chapter Two. Transitional Provisions
Article 132
First
The State shall guarantee care for the families of the martyrs, political prisoners, and victims of the oppressive practices of the defunct dictatorial regime.
Second
The State shall guarantee compensation to the families of the martyrs and the injured as a result of terrorist acts.
Third
A law shall regulate matters mentioned in clauses “First” and “Second” of this Article.
Article 133
The Council of Representatives shall adopt in its first session the bylaws of the Transitional National Assembly until it adopts its own bylaws.
Article 134
The Iraqi High Tribunal shall continue its duties as an independent judicial body, in examining the crimes of the defunct dictatorial regime and its symbols. The Council of Representatives shall have the right to dissolve it by law after the completion of its work.
Article 135
First
The High Commission for De-Ba’athification shall continue its functions as an independent commission, in coordination with the judicial authority and the executive institutions within the framework of the laws regulating its functions. The Commission shall be attached to the Council of Representatives.
Second
The Council of Representatives shall have the right to dissolve this Commission by an absolute majority after the completion of its function.
Third
A nominee to the positions of the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the members of the Council of Ministers, the Speaker, the members of the Council of Representatives, the President, members of the Federation Council, their counterparts in the regions, or members of the judicial commissions and other positions covered by de-Ba’athification statutes pursuant to the law may not be subject to the provisions of de-Ba’athification.
Fourth
The conditions stated in clause “Third” of this Article shall remain in force unless the Commission stated in item “First” of this Article is dissolved.
Fifth
Mere membership in the dissolved Ba’ath party shall not be considered a sufficient basis for referral to court, and a member shall enjoy equality before the law and protection unless covered by the provisions of De-Ba’athification and the directives issued according to it.
Sixth
The Council of Representatives shall form a parliamentary committee from among its members to monitor and review the executive procedures of the Higher Commission for De-Ba’athification and state institutions to guarantee justice, objectivity, and transparency and to examine their consistency with the laws. The committee’s decisions shall be subject to the approval of the Council of Representatives.
Article 136
First
The Property Claims Commission shall continue its functions as an independent commission in coordination with the judicial authority and the executive institutions in accordance with the law. The Property Claims Commission shall be attached to the Council of Representatives.
Second
The Council of Representatives shall have the right to dissolve the Commission by a two- thirds majority vote of its members.
Article 137
Application of the provisions of the articles related to the Federation Council, wherever it may be cited in this Constitution, shall be postponed until the Council of Representatives issues a decision by a two-thirds majority vote in its second electoral term that is held after this Constitution comes into force.
Article 138
First
The expression “the Presidency Council” shall replace the expression “the President of the Republic” wherever the latter is mentioned in this Constitution. The provisions related to the President of the Republic shall be reactivated one successive term after this Constitution comes into force.
Second
- The Council of Representatives shall elect the President of the State and two Vice Presidents who shall form a Council called the “Presidency Council,” which shall be elected by one list and with a two-thirds majority.
- The provisions to remove the President of the Republic present in this Constitution shall apply to the President and members of the Presidency Council.
- The Council of Representatives may remove a member of the Presidency Council with a three-fourths majority of the number of its members for reasons of incompetence and dishonesty.
- In the event of a vacant seat in the Presidency Council, the Council of Representatives shall elect a replacement by a two-thirds majority vote of its members.
Third
Members of the Presidency Council shall be subject to the same conditions as a member of the Council of Representatives and must:
- Be over forty years of age.
- Enjoy good reputation, integrity and uprightness.
- Have quit the dissolved (Ba’ath) Party ten years prior to its fall, in case he was a member of it.
- Have not participated in suppressing the 1991 and Al-Anfal uprisings. He must not have committed a crime against the Iraqi people.
Fourth
The Presidency Council shall issue its decisions unanimously and any member may delegate to one of the two other members to take his place.
Fifth
- Legislation and decisions enacted by the Council of Representatives shall be forwarded to the Presidency Council for their unanimous approval and for its issuance within ten days from the date of delivery to the Presidency Council, except the stipulations of Articles 118 and 119 that pertain to the formation of regions.
- In the event the Presidency Council does not approve, legislation and decisions shall be sent back to the Council of Representatives to reexamine the disputed issues and to vote on them by the majority of its members and then shall be sent for the second time to the Presidency Council for approval.
- In the event the Presidency Council does not approve the legislation and decisions for the second time within ten days of receipt, the legislation and decisions are sent back to the Council of Representatives, which has the right to adopt it by three-fifths majority of its members, which may not be challenged, and the legislation or decision shall be considered ratified.
Sixth
The Presidency Council shall exercise the powers of the President of the Republic stipulated in this Constitution.
Article 139
The Prime Minister shall have two deputies in the first electoral term.
Article 140
First
The executive authority shall undertake the necessary steps to complete the implementation of the requirements of all subparagraphs of Article 58 of the Transitional Administrative Law.
Second
The responsibility placed upon the executive branch of the Iraqi Transitional Government stipulated in Article 58 of the Transitional Administrative Law shall extend and continue to the executive authority elected in accordance with this Constitution, provided that it accomplishes completely (normalization and census and concludes with a referendum in Kirkuk and other disputed territories to determine the will of their citizens), by a date not to exceed the 31st of December 2007.
Article 141
Legislation enacted in the region of Kurdistan since 1992 shall remain in force, and decisions issued by the government of the region of Kurdistan, including court decisions and contracts, shall be considered valid unless they are amended or annulled pursuant to the laws of the region of Kurdistan by the competent entity in the region, provided that they do not contradict with the Constitution.
Article 142
First
The Council of Representatives shall form at the beginning of its work a committee from its members representing the principal components of the Iraqi society with the mission of presenting to the Council of Representatives, within a period not to exceed four months, a report that contains recommendations of the necessary amendments that could be made to the Constitution, and the committee shall be dissolved after a decision is made regarding its proposals.
Second
The proposed amendments shall be presented to the Council of Representatives all at once for a vote upon them, and shall be deemed approved with the agreement of the absolute majority of the members of the Council.
Third
The articles amended by the Council of Representatives pursuant to item “Second” of this Article shall be presented to the people for voting on them in a referendum within a period not exceeding two months from the date of their approval by the Council of Representatives.
Fourth
The referendum on the amended Articles shall be successful if approved by the majority of the voters, and if not rejected by two-thirds of the voters in three or more governorates.
Fifth
Article 126 of the Constitution (concerning amending the Constitution) shall be suspended, and shall return into force after the amendments stipulated in this Article have been decided upon.
Article 143
The Transitional Administrative Law and its Annex shall be annulled on the seating of the new government, except for the stipulations of Article 53(A) and Article 58 of the Transitional Administrative Law.
Article 144
This Constitution shall come into force after the approval of the people thereon in a general referendum, its publication in the Official Gazette, and the seating of the government that is formed pursuant to this Constitution
