Iraq Federal Supreme Court Rejects Five Lawsuits Against KRG Over 1992 Property Decision

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court has issued final rulings rejecting five separate lawsuits filed against officials of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), citing a lack of jurisdiction over the cases.

On Wednesday, lawyer Ayad Kakai told Kurdistan24 that four of the lawsuits were filed by Iraq’s former finance minister Taif Sami, the director general of Rafidain Bank, the director general of Al-Rasheed Bank, and the director general of the National Insurance Company.

The defendants included the Presidency of the Kurdistan Region, the Kurdistan Region Prime Minister, and the KRG Minister of Justice.

According to Kakai, the plaintiffs had sought to have a KRG decision issued in November 1992 declared unconstitutional and annulled. The decision granted the KRG full ownership of properties belonging to the Iraqi government that were located within the Kurdistan Region. The properties were subsequently transferred to the KRG Ministry of Finance and Economy.

The Federal Supreme Court ruled that adjudicating the issue fell outside its judicial authority and jurisdiction. On that basis, it rejected all five lawsuits without ruling on the substance of the claims.

The dispute centers on a 1992 KRG decision concerning Iraqi state-owned properties in the Kurdistan Region. The properties were transferred to the KRG Ministry of Finance and Economy after the decision, placing them under the administration and ownership of the regional government.

The lawsuits sought to challenge the legal validity of that decision before Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court. However, the court determined that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the cases, bringing the five lawsuits to an end.