Marriage, dissociation, maintenance, and custody
The Law Office of Ali Barakat in Baghdad follows personal-status matters that are ordinarily brought before the Personal Status Court (محكمة الأحوال الشخصية): the marriage contract and its registration, talaq and its recording, judicial dissolution (tafriq), maintenance (nafakah), custody (hadanah) and visitation (mushahadah), dower (mahr), and the deed of death and the legal inheritance deed (القسام الشرعي). The office is in Al-Yarmouk.
The source of this field is Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959, published in the Official Gazette (الوقائع العراقية), issue 280, on 30/12/1959, according to the Iraqi Legislation Database. In 2025 an amendment was added that organises a choice to apply the rulings of the Ja'fari Shi'i school in personal-status matters, on the terms set out below. That amendment does not replace a reading of the text in force against the facts of the file itself.
Which court hears a personal-status case?
A claim about marriage, talaq, judicial dissolution, maintenance, custody or parentage, and many inheritance questions for Muslims, is instituted by a statement of claim (عريضة الدعوى) before the Personal Status Court. The court is a formation of the ordinary judiciary, organised under the Supreme Judicial Council. In Baghdad, cases are distributed among Personal Status Courts according to residence or the place of the contract, under the rules of territorial jurisdiction in Civil Procedure Law No. 83 of 1969.
Such claims are not brought before the Court of First Instance (محكمة البداءة) except where the dispute falls outside the Personal Status Court's jurisdiction, for example a purely civil claim between parties to whom this statute does not apply. The first useful question when a file is opened is whether the subject is a personal-status matter, and which Personal Status Court has territorial jurisdiction.
What does the Personal Status Law say about marriage?
Article 3 defines marriage as a contract between a man and a woman who is lawful to him under the Sharia, whose purpose is to found the marital bond and issue. It is concluded by offer and acceptance in the form that conveys that meaning in language or custom, as the provisions on the pillars and conditions of the contract set out.
As to capacity, Article 7 requires reason and completion of the age of eighteen. The judge may, within the limits drawn by Article 8, permit the marriage of a person who has completed fifteen years of age if physical fitness and capability are established, and after the statutory conditions are verified. The measure is the text and what the papers establish before the Personal Status Court.
Article 9 forbids compelling any person, male or female, to marry without consent, and a contract concluded under compulsion is void if consummation has not taken place. The statute also attaches a criminal consequence to compelling a person to marry.
As to registration, Article 10 requires the marriage contract to be recorded in a special register at the court, free of charge, according to the particulars and documents the text enumerates, including the spouses' identity, the dower, and the guardian if one is present. A contract concluded outside the court is not automatically without effect, but proving it and correcting its entry before the Personal Status Court is a later path, with its own conditions. The detailed treatment of confirming a marriage concluded outside the court belongs to a later batch. This hub only records that registration at the court is the path the statute sets for proving the contract in the official register.
Talaq, judicial dissolution, and khul': three paths that should not be confused
The statute distinguishes pronouncing talaq, applying for judicial dissolution, and mukhala'ah (khul'). Talaq is, in principle, an act of the husband, subject to the conditions, the number of pronouncements, and revocation as organised in the chapter on talaq. It is then recorded before the Personal Status Court or, within the limits of the arrangements in force, before the Notary (الكاتب العدل), and the matter returns to the court if the occurrence or the effects are disputed. Judicial dissolution is a claim either spouse files in the Personal Status Court on grounds the statute lists, including harm, discord, failure to maintain, and absence; the court orders dissolution if the ground is proved. Mukhala'ah is a separation by consent of the spouses in return for consideration, under its own rules.
The detailed difference between talaq and judicial dissolution is taken up in a separate article. What matters is that the paths are three, that each has its own conditions and its effect on the waiting period, maintenance, custody and dower, and that the court does not give its decision until the facts are established from the papers and the enquiry the statute requires.
Maintenance, custody, and dower
Maintenance of the wife is due from the husband from the time of a valid contract, under the provisions on maintenance, unless a legal cause is established that drops it or restricts it, such as a finding of recalcitrance (nushuz) when that is proved by a judgment. Maintenance includes food, clothing, housing, and whatever else custom and the law require for a wife of her standing. Maintenance of children is due from the father within the limits the text draws, and maintenance of parents may be claimed in its proper cases. An increase or reduction of maintenance, or a claim for arrears, is brought before the Personal Status Court. The sum and the period are read from the text, after the relevant article is reviewed.
Custody is a right of the child and an interest of the child before it is an advantage of either parent. The statute organises who begins with custody, an age at which it may pass, grounds that may cause it to be dropped, and the right of visitation and meeting for the parent who is not the custodian. The amendment in Law No. 1 of 2025 constrains what may be written in the Ja'fari code: the mother's custody is not to be limited to less than seven years, and the right to meet and remain in contact is to be observed in a suitable measure. That is a constraint on the code when it is drawn up. It is not to be read, on its own, as the ruling in every case. Custody in a case before the court is decided by the text in force, the interest of the child, and what the court finds proved.
Dower is a right of the wife. It is named in the contract, and it may be accelerated or deferred in whole or in part. The wife becomes entitled to the named dower on consummation or on the death of either spouse, and to half of it if talaq is pronounced before consummation, on the detail set out in the articles on dower. A dispute over prompt or deferred dower is brought before the Personal Status Court.
The deed of death and the legal inheritance deed
When a person dies, a deed of death is ordinarily obtained from the Personal Status Court, and a legal inheritance deed (قسام شرعي) is then sought to identify the heirs and their shares under the Sharia and the statute, unless a special text applies another arrangement to the estate. The legal inheritance deed is an official instrument later used before the Real Estate Registration Department (دائرة التسجيل العقاري), banks, or any office that requires proof of heirship. The division of shares is a precise legal and juristic question.
What did Law No. 1 of 2025 change?
Law No. 1 of 2025 was published in the Official Gazette, issue 4814, on 17/2/2025, and came into force on the date of publication. It amends Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959 by adding a paragraph to Article 2.
In the official wording, a Muslim Iraqi man and a Muslim Iraqi woman, when concluding and registering their marriage contract in the Personal Status Court, may choose that the rulings of the Ja'fari Shi'i school apply to them and to their minor children in all personal-status matters, and they may not later change that choice. For a contract concluded and registered before the amendment came into force, if the contract was made according to that school, either fully capable party may apply to the Personal Status Court for those rulings to apply, and the text treats inclusion of a deferred dower payable on demand and when means allow as evidence of that character. A fully capable Muslim Iraqi who is not in those two situations may also, within the limits the text draws, apply for the Ja'fari rulings to be applied to him or her.
The amendment requires a "Code of Sharia rulings in personal-status matters according to the Ja'fari Shi'i school" to be prepared by the Scholarly Council of the Shiite Endowment Diwan (ديوان الوقف الشيعي), with the assistance of a number of judges and legal experts and in coordination with the State Council (مجلس الدولة), and to be submitted to the Council of Representatives for approval within four months of the law coming into force. The Council of Representatives is to approve it and bring it into force within thirty days of receiving it. Until the code is approved, and in any matter on which the code is later silent, the Personal Status Court — in respect of those covered by this choice — is to refer to the Scholarly Council as an expert and to adopt its opinion under the mechanism the amendment sets out.
The legislature constrained the drafters of the code in three express respects: they must not reduce the age of marriage contrary to Article 8 of Law No. 188 of 1959; they must not depart from the conditions for marrying more than one wife in paragraphs (4) and (5) of Article 3; and they must not limit the mother's custody to less than seven years, while having regard to the interest of the child and the right to meet and remain in contact. If the parties differ on whether the Ja'fari rulings or Law No. 188 of 1959 should apply, the court follows, in talaq, in carrying out a will, and in dividing an inheritance, the choice of the husband who pronounces talaq, the testator, or the deceased; in other matters it follows what the majority of fully capable parties choose; and if no majority is formed, the court chooses what is closer to the principles of justice and equity.
Decision No. 10 of 2025, ratifying the "Code of Sharia rulings in personal-status matters according to the Ja'fari Shi'i school" on the basis of what the Council of Representatives approved, was published in the Official Gazette, issue 4843, on 6/10/2025. The code is treated as an annex to Law No. 1 of 2025, and the decision provides that it and the code take effect from their publication in the Official Gazette (Iraqi Legislation Database, https://iraqld.msla.iq/legislations/showlegislation?lawbookid=53936). The code is organised in parts on marriage, talaq, wills, inheritance and final provisions, and refers anything it does not cover to the Scholarly Council of the Shiite Endowment Diwan. In each file, what governs is the choice established before the Personal Status Court and the text the court applies; see Personal Status Law 188 and its amendments in force.
Topics in this area
- Judicial separation
- Divorce registration
- Maintenance claim
- Custody and visitation
- Prompt and deferred dower
- Death deed and inheritance deed
- Khul
- Removing a guardian
- Proving filiation
What does the office follow in this field?
From its office in Baghdad, the office follows questions and the general steps connected with opening a personal-status case, proceeding with it, or carrying out what is issued: registering or proving a marriage, recording talaq, a claim for judicial dissolution, a claim for maintenance or for its increase, a claim for custody or visitation, a claim for dower, and obtaining a deed of death and a legal inheritance deed.
Legal basis and sources
- Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959 (Official Gazette, issue 280 of 30/12/1959)
- Law No. 1 of 2025 (amending Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959) (Official Gazette, issue 4814 of 17/2/2025)
- Civil Procedure Law No. 83 of 1969
- Decision No. 10 of 2025 ratifying the Ja'fari personal-status code (Official Gazette, issue 4843 of 6/10/2025)
Frequently asked questions
Does every family dispute go to the Personal Status Court?
In principle, yes, when the subject is marriage, talaq, judicial dissolution, maintenance, custody, parentage, or a legal inheritance deed to which the Personal Status Law applies. A purely civil dispute, such as a claim for a debt with no connection to that framework, goes to the Court of First Instance.
Does an informal contract replace registration at the court?
The statute requires the marriage contract to be registered at the Personal Status Court. A contract concluded outside it may later be proved or registered before the court. That is a path of its own, and it is not reduced to a single sentence. The papers still have to be placed before the court.
What is the short difference between talaq and judicial dissolution?
Talaq is, in principle, a pronouncement by the husband under the conditions of the statute. Judicial dissolution is a judgment of the Personal Status Court on a ground that one of the spouses claims and proves. The detail is reserved for a later page.
Does Law No. 1 of 2025 apply to every Iraqi?
The amendment organises a choice for a Muslim Iraqi man and a Muslim Iraqi woman to have the Ja'fari rulings applied, under the mechanism the text sets out. It does not repeal Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959 for a person who is not covered by that choice or who has not made it in the statutory form.
Topics in this area
- 01Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959: what applies todayReading Iraq's Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959 as amended: articles 1 and 2, Law No. 1 of 2025, and the Jaafari code ratified by Decision No. 10 of 2025.
- 02Judicial separation and its grounds before the Personal Status CourtGrounds for judicial separation under articles 40 to 45 of Iraq's Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959: harm, discord and arbitration, wife's grounds, and effect.
- 03Registering a divorce in court, and revocable versus irrevocable talaqRegistering talaq at the Personal Status Court under article 39 of Iraq's Law No. 188 of 1959, when talaq does not take effect, proxies, and article 38 types.
- 04The maintenance claim: wife and children, increase and lossThe maintenance claim before the Personal Status Court under articles 23 to 33 and 58 to 63 of Iraq's Law No. 188 of 1959: scope, interim award, increase, loss.
- 05Custody and visitation: custody age and when custody endsCustody and visitation under article 57 of Iraq's Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959: the mother's priority, custodian conditions, ages ten and fifteen, transfer.
- 06Prompt and deferred dower (mahr)Dower rules in articles 19 to 22 of Iraq's Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959: named and proper dower, prompt and deferred parts, when the deferred part falls due.
- 07Death deed, inheritance deed (qassam) and distributing an estateProving death and issuing the inheritance deed before the Personal Status Court under articles 300 and 310 of the Civil Procedure Law, and the order of rights in an estate under articles 86 to 91.
- 08Khul under Personal Status Law No. 188Khul under article 46 of Iraq's Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959: offer and acceptance before the judge, the husband's capacity, compensation, irrevocable effect.
- 09Removing a guardian (wasi) under Iraqi lawGrounds for removing a guardian and stripping a father's guardianship under Minors Care Law No. 78 of 1980 and articles 83 and 84 of the Personal Status Law, and the roles of the Minors Care Directorate and the court.
- 10Proving filiation (nasab) under Iraqi lawHow filiation is established under articles 51 to 54 of Iraq's Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959: a wife's child attributed to her husband, acknowledgment of a child or parent, and a claim before the court.
- 11Nushuz and the obedience (mutawa'a) claim under Iraqi personal status lawHow article 25 of Iraq's Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959 treats the obedience claim and a nushuz ruling: abusive demands, the court's duty to wait, and effects on maintenance and dower.
- 12Separation for non-support under Iraqi lawSeparation for non-support under items 7, 8 and 9 of article 43 of Iraq's Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959: refusal without excuse, uncollectable maintenance, unpaid arrears, the 60-day grace period.
- 13Separation for a husband's absence, desertion or disappearance in Iraqi lawAbsence as a ground for separation under Iraq's Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959: two years' desertion, uncollectable maintenance, a foreign-national husband abroad for three years, and a missing husband after four.
- 14Maintenance of parents by a well-off child under Iraqi lawParents' maintenance under article 61 of Iraq's Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959: a well-off child and a poor parent, the exception for a father who insists on idleness, other relatives, and the date of claim.
- 15Waiting-period ('idda) maintenance in Iraqi law: who is owed it and for how longWaiting-period maintenance under article 50 of Iraq's Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959: owed to a divorcee even if recalcitrant, not owed after death, the periods in article 48, and abusive-divorce compensation.
- 16The obligatory bequest in Iraqi law for children of a predeceased son or daughterThe obligatory bequest under article 74 of Iraq's Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959: a predeceased child's share passing to his or her children within one third, its priority, and voluntary wills.