Exemption from Military Service under the Statutory Grounds

The word "exemption" is often used for anyone who did not perform military service, but the Military Service Law No. 65 of 1969 separates three positions, each with its own conditions and effect. The office of lawyer Ali Barakat, in al-Yarmouk, Baghdad, explains the distinction, bearing in mind that compulsory service has been on hold since CPA Order No. 2 of 2003.

Exception: outside compulsory service altogether

Article 6 excepts four groups from compulsory service. First, those serving as officers in the army, police, security, nationality directorate or border guard, whose service there counts towards compulsory service. Second, students of the colleges, institutes and schools of those bodies while they continue, with the time spent counted if they do not finish. Third, students of colleges and higher institutes studying at the expense of the Ministry of Defence, police, security or nationality directorate. Fourth, persons the Minister of Defence excepts by order for state security reasons and for the period he sets.

Exemption: service performed another way

Article 7 exempts a volunteer who actually served in the army after nineteen for a period equal to the service of conscripts born in his year, and a volunteer in the police, security, nationality directorate or border guard who actually served at least fifty-two months after nineteen, including police commissioners. It also exempts one who completed higher studies at those bodies' expense and then served at least ten years as an officer. A police volunteer who did not complete fifty-two months has half his service credited against his compulsory service. A volunteer whose relationship ended before six years must serve a period equal to the remainder, capped at the statutory period.

Deferment: postponement, not release

Article 8 defers six groups in peacetime: a person whom medical examination shows to have an illness or disability temporarily preventing service under the fitness rules issued by the Minister of Defence; the youngest son where a brother is actually serving and none of them has completed, been excepted from, deferred or exempted from service; a person serving a custodial sentence for its duration, or detained for the period of detention; continuing students; members of the police, security, nationality directorate and border guard while serving; and members of collective farms and agricultural cooperatives with ministry confirmation. Study deferment is explained in study deferment.

Deferments by the Minister of Defence

Article 63 allows the Minister of Defence, in the public interest and on the proposal of the competent minister, to defer graduates to be appointed as teachers or university staff, maritime pilots and crew of Iraqi vessels while so employed, and persons sent to study abroad at the expense of the government or a foreign body until they finish.

The supporter

A supporter under article 9 is neither exempted nor deferred by law; he is enlisted and paid as a volunteer soldier, unless the Council of Ministers defers a whole intake or batch of supporters while the grounds of support continue. Article 10 requires that the supported relative has no salary or wealth that could replace the support.

Medical unfitness

A permanent disability preventing service is established by medical examination committees under the fitness rules. Article 62 allows the Director-General of Recruitment to re-examine a person claiming an illness or disability arising after his last examination, before an appellate medical committee. See challenging recruitment office decisions.

Cheating to obtain exemption

Article 45 punishes with imprisonment anyone who disables one of his own limbs, himself or through another, to escape service, together with any accomplice. Article 46 punishes presenting a substitute for examination or enlistment, and using forged papers or a trick to obtain exception, exemption or deferment.

The document

Article 64 makes the Minister of Defence or his delegate the body that issues documents confirming exception, exemption or deferment. See service completion certificate and documents.

Legal basis and sources

1. Military Service Law No. 65 of 1969 (Official Gazette No. 1728 of 13/5/1969) — Articles 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 45, 46, 62, 63 and 64
2. Coalition Provisional Authority Order No. 2 of 2003, Dissolution of Entities (Official Gazette No. 3977 of 17/6/2003)

Frequently asked questions

Related topics and articles

• 01Study Deferment from Military ServiceHow the Military Service Law No. 65 of 1969 regulated student deferment: article 8, failing two years, postgraduate study up to thirty, studying abroad, the service booklet, and the annual review of deferred persons.
• 02Challenging Recruitment Office DecisionsRoutes of objection under the Military Service Law No. 65 of 1969: changes of birth year and the governor's committee within thirty days, medical re-examination and the appellate medical committee, detention for age assessment, and the limits of administrative appeal.
• 03Service Completion Certificate and DocumentsThe military service booklet and documents confirming completion, exception, exemption or deferment under the Military Service Law No. 65 of 1969: who issues them, where they were required, a lost booklet, and the penalty for forgery.
• 04The Military Service Law: Who Is CoveredWho the Iraqi Military Service Law No. 65 of 1969 addresses: males up to forty-five, the invitee and the conscript, the age of liability, civil register ages, naturalised Iraqis, and the effect of the 2003 suspension.
• 05Absence from Service: Legal Description and EffectsThe difference between failing to report under the Military Service Law and absence or desertion under the Military Penal Code No. 19 of 2007: periods, penalties, surrender, and the volunteer who leaves his unit.

Always check the text in force and its amendments in the official source.

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