Federal Court Order Anticipated to Resolve Kurdistan Salary Crisis
Kurdistan’s Deputy Prime Minister urges swift judicial action as Erbil and Baghdad await emergency ruling to end public sector salary deadlock
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Kurdistan Region’s Assistant Prime Minister on Wednesday reiterated that immense pressure is mounting on the Iraqi federal government to resolve the long-standing salary crisis affecting public sector employees in the Kurdistan Region. Both Erbil and Baghdad are now awaiting an emergency order from Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court to unlock salaries owed to Kurdish civil servants.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Rebaz Hamlan, the Kurdistan Region’s Assistant Prime Minister for Finance, confirmed that both the regional and federal governments are waiting for an emergency ruling ["Walayi Order"- in Arabic] from the Federal Supreme Court that could break the deadlock over salary disbursements.
To date, the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants have not received their salaries for May from the Iraqi Ministry of Finance. Earlier this month, a number of Kurdish public employees filed lawsuits against the ministry’s decision to withhold salaries, but the court has not issued a ruling due to a quorum issue—five of the nine justices are currently in Mecca performing the Hajj pilgrimage, including the court’s chief justice.
According to judicial protocol, all nine judges must be present to rule on major cases, including those involving constitutional and financial disputes.
“We hope the emergency order will allow salaries to be paid, as this is a constitutional and legal right,” Hamlan stated. “According to the federal budget law and the February 1 agreement between the federal and regional governments, salary disbursement must proceed without further delay. We do not wish to see any new obstacles emerge.”
Hamlan, a former acting Iraqi finance minister who resigned in protest against decisions made by current minister Taif Sami, emphasized that of the 13.334 trillion Iraqi dinars allocated for the Kurdistan Region in the federal budget, only 3.834 trillion dinars have been disbursed so far—covering just four months’ worth of salaries.
The deputy prime minister also reaffirmed that the United States is exerting considerable pressure on the Iraqi federal government to resolve the issue promptly. Meanwhile, he noted that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani continues diplomatic engagement with the international community to seek a solution to the salary impasse.
The outcome of the anticipated emergency court order could have significant implications for the financial stability of the Kurdistan Region and the credibility of Baghdad’s fiscal commitments.