Iraq considers appointing powerful clerics to high court
Iraq's legislature is mulling over a bill that would change the makeup of the country's top court to include Islamic scholars, stirring controversy over how much influence they should have.
Iraq's parliament is working on a draft law that could put clerics on the Federal Supreme Court and give them veto power.
The legislature held its second reading of a draft law regarding the Federal Supreme Court on June 13, amid heated disputes over most of the proposed articles, particularly those providing for the appointment of clerics to the court and the entity responsible for their selection.
The court currently is regulated by a law issued by an interim government in 2005 and contradicts several articles of the permanent constitution approved at the end of that year.
Most notably, Article 92 of the constitution specifies, “The Federal Supreme Court is an independent judicial body, financially and administratively.” The court, however, is headed by the president of the Supreme Judicial Council, who also selects its judges.
