KRG Demands Constitutional Rights Over Oil Resources
KRG declared its objective to defend its constitutional rights through all available means, stressing its commitment to protect the constitutional rights of Kurdistan's people and Kirkuk through legal frameworks.

Jan. 13, 2025
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Late Sunday evening, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) issued a statement emphasizing its constitutional rights regarding oil resources and Kurdish territories outside the Kurdistan Region’s control.
The statement also highlighted the federal government's two-decade failure to implement Article 140 of Iraq's 2005 Constitution.
The KRG underscored that Article 140, which mandated a referendum in Kirkuk and other Kurdish territories before Dec. 31, 2007, remains unfulfilled despite its constitutional obligation.
"Both before this deadline and throughout the past 20 years, successive Iraqi governments have completely failed to carry out the mandated referendum process," the statement declared.
The announcement comes at a significant time as Baghdad prepares to unilaterally manage oil and gas resources in these contested regions, despite Kurdish constitutional claims under Article 140.
The KRG statement cited Articles 110 and 115 of the 2005 Iraqi Constitution, which permit regional authorities exclusive rights to manage newly discovered oil and gas fields.
Additionally, Article 112 specifies joint management between federal and regional governments for previously discovered oil fields, including those in Kirkuk and surrounding areas.
Baghdad is constitutionally obligated to reach an agreement with the KRG regarding revenue distribution from these established fields.
The KRG upheld its constant commitment to partake in these arrangements while stressing that the federal government has incessantly evaded its constitutional responsibilities. Current federal initiatives to sign new oil and gas contracts without considering Articles 140 and 112 have intensified tensions between Erbil and Baghdad.
In response, the KRG declared its objective to defend its constitutional rights through all available means, stressing its commitment to protect the constitutional rights of Kurdistan's people and Kirkuk through legal frameworks.
Since the ratification of the 2005 Constitution, the implementation of Article 140 has been a continual point of dispute in Kurdish-Iraqi relations.
Originally, the article aimed to tackle and resolve the status of Kurdish territories outside KRG’s control, particularly oil-rich Kirkuk, through a three-step process of normalization, census, and referendum.
Its persistent non-implementation signifies one of the most noteworthy constitutional challenges in post-2003 Iraq.