The Role of the Code of Sharia Provisions in the Application of Personal Status Matters under the Effective Iraqi Personal Status Law No. (188) of (1959), as Amended, and Law No. (1) of (2025)

Khudair, Dhu Al-Fiqar Ali Wanas; Hussein, Shatha Mudhaffar

doi:10.63677/jqlap.2025.167417.1505

The Role of the Code of Sharia Provisions in the Application of Personal Status Matters under the Effective Iraqi Personal Status Law No. (188) of (1959), as Amended, and Law No. (1) of (2025)

https://doi.org/10.63677/jqlap.2025.167417.1505

Volume 17, Issue: 2 part 1
Summer 2026

Pages 733-744

AL-Qadisiya Journal For Law and Political Sciences

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Dhu Al-Fiqar Ali Wanas Khudair ¹

Shatha Mudhaffar Hussein ²

¹ College of Agriculture / Al-Qadisiyah University

² College of Law / Al-Qadisiyah University

Abstract

In 2025, the Iraqi Personal Status Law No. (188) of 1959, as amended, witnessed further amendment under Law No. (1) of 2025, which granted Iraqi Muslims the right, upon concluding a marriage contract, to choose the application of the provisions of the Ja'fari Shiite school of jurisprudence to govern their personal status and that of their minor children. The same applies to contracts concluded prior to the entry into force of the amendment, provided that both spouses were fully competent. What characterizes this law is the broad scope of freedom it grants to Iraqis in general, and to Shiites in particular, in choosing between the two legal regimes to govern their personal status: either the Iraqi Personal Status Law No. (188) of 1959, as amended, or Law No. (1) of 2025, in harmony with Article (41) of the Iraqi Constitution of 2005, which enshrines the freedom of individuals to regulate their personal status in accordance with their religion, sect, belief, or personal choice.

Subjects