What did the Second Amendment to the Political Prisoners Foundation Law, Law No. 10 of 2025, change?
Law No. 10 of 2025 is the Second Amendment to the Political Prisoners Foundation Law No. 4 of 2006, following the First Amendment by Law No. 35 of 2013. The President of the Republic issued it on 15/9/2025; it appeared in issue 4841 of Al-Waqa'i Al-Iraqiya on 22/9/2025 and took effect on publication. It has eight articles. The main changes are a new welfare fund, a committee to reconsider old non-coverage decisions, a reworded residential land right, a choice on retirement, coverage of political prisoners and detainees in the Kurdistan Region, equal transfer of the salary to the family, and the removal of the effects of political acts from official records.
Presented by the Law Office of Ali Barakat Al-Taae, to be read alongside the page Political Prisoners Foundation and Martyrs Foundation.
Why was the amendment issued?
The statement of reasons says the aim is to address legal gaps in the law as amended in 2013, to do justice to the covered groups and make it easier for them to obtain their rights, to create a fund for social, health, educational and cultural welfare, and to cover political detainees and prisoners in the Kurdistan Region in application of Article 132 of the Constitution.
Article 1: the welfare fund and the Reconsideration Committee
The Political Prisoners Welfare Fund
A new text replaced paragraph (d) of item 2 of Article 7, establishing the "Political Prisoners Welfare Fund" with its own legal personality and independent finances and administration. It is represented by its director general, and its board is chaired by the Foundation's head. The fund sets up or finances projects, grants loans and advances, finances housing projects and the purchase of housing units, and funds social, health and educational programmes.
Its resources include a monthly subscription from covered persons at no more than 2% of the retirement pension and financial grants given under this law, along with investment returns, gifts and service fees. The head of the Foundation issues instructions setting the fund's competences and structure.
The Reconsideration Committee
The amendment added paragraph (e) to item 5 of Article 7: one or more committees called the "Reconsideration Committee", chaired by a legal employee with at least five years of actual service, with four Foundation employees chosen by the Foundation's head, one of them a covered person and one a legal employee.
Its remit is specific: to examine applications and reports concerning non-coverage decisions issued by the special committees or the Appeals Body while Law No. 35 of 2013 was being applied. It submits its recommendations to the Foundation's head for approval; the special committees are bound by them, and the Appeals Body reconsiders its non-coverage decisions in line with them.
The amendment also added paragraph (f): the head of the Foundation may choose the chairs of the Special Committee and the Rafha detainees' committee from legal employees who are not covered persons where no covered legal employee is available.
Practical detail is on the page Challenging a non-coverage decision and reconsideration.
Article 2: residential land
The amendment reworded item 1 of Article 18: covered persons or their heirs receive a residential plot, as an exception to Decision No. 120 of 1982 of the dissolved Revolutionary Command Council and to the place-of-origin condition, or a cash alternative, or a housing unit. The important addition is that obtaining land under this law does not prevent benefiting from land or a housing unit under other laws.
Article 3: three items in Article 19
- Item 13 reserved a share of Hajj places for covered persons or their families. The Federal Supreme Court, in decision No. 168/Federal/2025 of 27/10/2025 (published in the Iraqi Official Gazette, issue 4848), held this item unconstitutional for violating the principles of equality and equal opportunity (Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution), so it should not be relied on.
- Item 14 gives a covered employee whose period of combining two salaries ends before retirement the right, on retirement, to choose between keeping the retirement pension or returning to the salary granted by this law, paid from the request date without retroactive effect.
- Item 15 brings political prisoners and detainees in Iraq's Kurdistan Region under the law where their periods fall within Article 5, item 1, and bars them from more than one entitlement for the same harm or the same reasons, whether granted under the Region's laws, this law or any other. The Ministry of Finance coordinates implementation with the Kurdistan Regional Government.
Article 4: the salary passes to the family
A new text replaced paragraph (c) of item 5 of Article 22: the salary set for covered persons passes to their family on death and is divided equally among them. Who counts as family is set by Article 5 of the law.
Article 5: Article 22 bis
The amendment added a new article with two rules:
- The political acts for which covered persons were detained or imprisoned under the former regime are not criminal records that prevent them from obtaining employment rights or any other rights.
- Seizure, disposal-ban and travel-ban marks that resulted from their opposition are removed from the records of official departments, where they were placed because of detention or a judgment for political reasons.
Articles 6 and 7: conflicting texts and instructions
Article 6 suspends any text that conflicts with the amendment. Article 7 replaced Article 23: the head of the Foundation must issue the necessary instructions and rules within ninety days after the law was published, and the procedures for detainees inside and outside Iraq to apply and prove their cases within the structure of the Rafha detainees' special committee are organised by rules issued by the Foundation's head.
What followed: Instructions No. 1 of 2026
Instructions No. 1 of 2026 appeared in issue 4857 of Al-Waqa'i Al-Iraqiya on 26/1/2026, under Article 23, amending Instructions No. 1 of 2024:
- Reconsideration requests: any person with an interest may request reconsideration of decisions issued under Law No. 4 of 2006 as amended that breached its provisions. The head of the Foundation forms one or more committees to examine requests; they recommend either filing the request away if the decision was sound, or referring it to the committee that issued the decision to reconsider it in the light of new documents and evidence.
- Urgency: the special committees and the Appeals Body examine requests for reconsideration or cancellation of coverage as a matter of urgency.
Under the same Instructions, the Rafha detainees' committee accepts international documents proving detention in the camp, such as United Nations, Red Cross or International Organization for Migration documents, unless they conflict with the dates of participation in the uprising or with official records. For detainees held outside Iraq, the Special Committee accepts official documents issued by the State where the detention took place.
Time limits after the amendment in one table
| Step | Time limit | From | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Issuing implementing instructions | 90 days | The law's appearance in the gazette | Article 23 as amended |
| Deciding a request for reconsideration or cancellation of coverage | No more than 60 days | Filing of the request | Article 4 of the Instructions as amended in 2026 |
| Grievance to the Appeals Body | 30 days | Knowledge of the decision or deemed notification | Article 10, item 3 (unchanged) |
| Challenge before the Administrative Judiciary Court | 30 days | Notification of the appeal result | Article 10, item 4 (unchanged) |
| Choice on retirement | Paid without retroactive effect | Filing of the request | Article 19, item 14 |
Who does the amendment affect in practice?
The amendment touches specific groups of file holders, and its reading differs with each one's position:
- A person refused coverage under the 2013 amendment: the new route is the Reconsideration Committee, not a fresh grievance after its period has run out.
- Heirs of a deceased covered person: the salary passes to the family and is divided equally, and the family is identified under Article 5 through the sharia inheritance deed.
- A covered employee whose combining period ended before retirement: payment starts from the date the choice is requested and does not reach back, so the timing of the request has a direct effect.
- Someone still carrying a seizure or travel-ban mark for a political reason: Article 22 bis, item 2 is the basis for asking the department that holds the mark to lift it.
- Prisoners and detainees in the Kurdistan Region: implementation runs through coordination between the Ministry of Finance and the Regional Government, with the bar on a second entitlement for the same harm.
What did not change?
The amendment did not change the periods in Article 5, item 1, the rules of proof in Article 6, or the grievance and appeal time limits in Article 10. Anyone refused recently therefore follows the Article 10 route, not the Reconsideration Committee route, which is reserved for non-coverage decisions issued while Law No. 35 of 2013 was being applied.
Legal basis and sources
- Second Amendment to the Political Prisoners Foundation Law, Law No. 10 of 2025 (Official Gazette, issue 4841, 22/9/2025)
- Political Prisoners Foundation Law No. 4 of 2006 (consolidated text)
- First Amendment Law No. 35 of 2013
- Instructions No. 1 of 2026 (Official Gazette, issue 4857, 26/1/2026)
- Instructions No. 1 of 2024
- Political Prisoners Foundation
Frequently asked questions
When did Law No. 10 of 2025 take effect?
On publication, in issue 4841 of Al-Waqa'i Al-Iraqiya dated 22/9/2025.
Does the amendment cover political prisoners in the Kurdistan Region?
Yes, where their periods fall within Article 5, item 1, with a bar on double entitlement for the same harm.
Is the Hajj places item still in force?
The Federal Supreme Court, in decision No. 168/Federal/2025 of 27/10/2025 (published in the Iraqi Official Gazette, issue 4848), held this item unconstitutional for violating the principles of equality and equal opportunity (Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution), so it should not be relied on.
My application was refused under the 2013 amendment. Do I go to the Reconsideration Committee?
If the non-coverage decision was issued while Law No. 35 of 2013 was being applied, it falls within that committee's remit. The decision's date and basis are read from the decision itself.
What happens to a deceased political prisoner's salary?
It passes to the family and is divided equally among them under Article 22, item 5, paragraph (c) as amended.