When should the official wording be quoted, and what is its authority?
Citing a statutory article is precise work. The Law Office of Ali Barakat does not present a close paraphrase as "the text of the article", and it does not rely on an English translation that was not issued by an official body if that translation conflicts with the Arabic published in the Official Gazette (al-Waqa'i al-Iraqiya).
When is the text quoted verbatim?
The text is quoted verbatim when the rule turns on a particular phrase: a definition, a time limit, a condition, a sanction, or a body named by the legislator. In those places a general sense is not enough. The article number, the statute and its year are stated, and the Official Gazette issue or the legislation page in the Iraqi Legislation Database is indicated so that the source can be revisited.
Where it is enough to state the effect — that the statute requires a permit, or that an objection is filed with a body the text names — the office states that effect in its own words, without suggesting that the wording is the article itself. Mixing commentary with the text leads the reader to treat the commentary as the rule.
What is observed when quoting?
The text is quoted in the form it has after the amendment in force on the date of the facts, not in an earlier form that has been repealed. If a consolidation in the database is in doubt, it is compared with the published issue. Punctuation and numbering in the original are kept so far as possible. An official word is not replaced with a "clearer" synonym if the legal meaning turns on it.
An English translation of an Iraqi text, unless an official body has issued that translation, is only an aid for a reader who does not use Arabic. On any conflict, the Arabic is preferred. In the English pages of this site, the names of public bodies are given in the adopted English rendering, with the Arabic form where useful at first mention, without any claim that the English is the official text.
How the official text is quoted
If a paragraph is taken from a long article, it is marked as an extract, and the full article number is given so that the provision is not cut off from its opening or from its exception. A selective quotation without an indication of the omission may change the meaning. The office follows a request to review the text when what is in the client's hands differs from the published issue or from the database.
Legal basis and sources
- Iraqi Legislation Database (Supreme Judicial Council)
- Ministry of Justice — Official Gazette (al-Waqa'i al-Iraqiya)
Frequently asked questions
May an English translation of an Iraqi statute be relied on?
It may be used as an aid to understanding if it was not issued by an official body, but on any difference authority attaches to the Arabic text published in the Official Gazette.
Does a commentary on an article take the place of quoting it?
Not where a citation is required. Commentary states the effect; a verbatim quotation preserves the legislator's wording. The two are kept apart in writing so that commentary is not taken to be the text.
Related topics and articles
- 01Official references for federal law and Kurdistan Region legislationWhere to obtain the official text of a federal Iraqi statute and of Kurdistan Region legislation, and how the Gazette and the Legislation Database differ.
- 02How to search for an Iraqi statute in the Legislation DatabaseA practical method for finding a federal Iraqi statute in the Iraqi Legislation Database: by title, number or year, then checking status and amendments.
- 03What recent changes are confirmed in labour, social security and companies law?Recent instruments in the Iraqi Legislation Database on labour, social security and companies or branches, without any claim that the list is complete.
- 04Does the same rule apply in Baghdad, the Kurdistan Region and Basrah?How the 2005 Constitution decides which law applies in Baghdad, in the Kurdistan Region and in Basrah: exclusive federal powers, the Region's right to amend how federal law applies there, Kurdistan legislation since 1992, and the powers of a governorate council outside a region, with examples from the Income Tax Law.