ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ayad Yasin Husein Kokha

Dr. Ayad Yasin Husein Kokha (LL.M. (Erbil), M.Phil. (London), Ph.D. (Cairo)) is an Assistant Professor of International Law at Salahaddin University-Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. He is a former Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study at the Central European University and is currently a Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for Experienced Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg.

POSTS BY Ayad Yasin Husein Kokha

26 September 2024

Iraq’s Lost Century

Shia religious authorities, in collaboration with their political allies in the Iraqi parliament, seek to redefine Iraq’s personal status law according to religious rules. On July 29, the largest bloc in Iraq’s parliament, introduced a controversial bill to amend the Personal Status Law of 1959. This proposed amendment would mandate that Iraqis, upon marriage, choose either Shia or Sunni jurisprudence to govern all personal status-related matters within their marriage. This change creates legal uncertainty by replacing predictable, codified law with premodern, uncodified Islamic jurisprudence. Moreover, it disproportionately affects women, especially by facilitating early marriages. Continue reading >>