Study deferment under the Iraqi Military Service Law

In briefThe Military Service Law No. 65 of 1969 defers a student while he continues his studies, within limits: failing two consecutive years raises the service period, postgraduate study is deferred on conditions up to thirty and for no more than four years, and a student abroad files proof of enrolment every September. Compulsory service itself has been suspended since 2003.

Before 2003, study deferment was a worry for every family with a son in secondary school or university. With compulsory service suspended the question has faded, but it returns whenever reinstatement is discussed, and when old records are reviewed. The office of lawyer Ali Barakat, in al-Yarmouk, Baghdad, explains the rules that the Military Service Law No. 65 of 1969 set for students.

A reminder of the current position

Compulsory service has been halted since CPA Order No. 2 of 2003, so nobody is enlisted today and nobody needs to seek deferment from it. What follows reads the text as published, which helps with old documents and with anything that might be revived later.

The rule: deferment while studies continue

Article 8(4) defers in peacetime students of schools, colleges, higher institutes and equivalents listed in article 2, as long as they continue studying. Deferment is tied to continuing, not merely to enrolling; a student who leaves loses the ground for deferment.

Age limits and failing years

Article 2 scales the service period to the certificate and sets limits that end deferment. A person who has not finished secondary school by twenty-three is liable for the longest period, and a student who fails two consecutive years at college or institute, whose registration is cancelled, who leaves without excuse or who has not graduated by thirty, is liable for twenty-four months. Article 35 adds years failed in the old class to years failed in the new one where a student switches his field.

Postgraduate study

Article 33 does not allow a college graduate to be deferred to pursue a higher degree unless he has completed, been excepted from, deferred or exempted from service. It makes an exception for one who joins an Iraqi university for that purpose, provided he is not over thirty, and he may be deferred for up to four years. Article 34 bars continued deferment to obtain another certificate at the same level.

The service booklet as a condition of admission

Article 32(1) does not allow a student over eighteen to be admitted or kept at a school or college unless he holds a military service booklet. Article 32(2) bars admission after the age stated in article 2 unless he has completed, been excepted from, deferred or exempted from service. See service completion certificate and documents.

Students abroad

Article 29 allowed a conscript to travel for study only to an institution recognised by the competent ministry and at a level no lower than his studies in Iraq. Article 36 requires a student abroad to file, during September each year, a school document confirming he is still enrolled with the Iraqi diplomatic or consular mission, together with a signed statement giving his full name, year of birth and recruitment office or civil register number. The mission forwards them within ten days to the General Directorate of Recruitment. Article 37 requires the mission to notify the Directorate of anyone who has finished his studies. See returnees and the service duty.

The annual review

Article 65 imposes an annual review in the last three months of each year on those deferred for study, to confirm that the ground still exists. The deferred person attends with his booklet and papers, or sends them through his employer, by registered post or through relatives.

The student who is also an employee

Article 27 bars keeping an employee appointed on the strength of a deferment unless he proves each January that his article 8 deferment continues.

Moving from one deferment to another

Article 43 deals with a person whose ground for deferment ends and who then acquires a new one. If he did not visit the recruitment office within two months of the first ground ending, he was treated as having failed to report and could be deferred again only after enlistment, trial and serving any sentence. Moving between grounds therefore required a timely visit.

Legal basis and sources

Frequently asked questions

Is a master's student deferred?

Article 33 allows deferment of someone enrolled at an Iraqi university for postgraduate study if he is not over thirty, for up to four years.

What happens if I fail two years?

Failing two consecutive years at college or institute makes the service period twenty-four months under article 2.

Should I apply for deferment today?

There is no enlistment for compulsory service today, as it has been suspended since 2003.

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

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Study Deferment from Military Service