If the Special Committee refuses an application for coverage, Article 10 of the Political Prisoners Foundation Law No. 4 of 2006 as amended sets a two-stage route: a grievance to the Appeals Body (Hay'at al-Ta'n) within thirty days of learning of the decision, then recourse to the Administrative Judiciary Court within thirty days after being notified of the appeal result. Alongside this route, Law No. 10 of 2025 created a committee to reconsider older non-coverage decisions.
The full framework is on the page Political Prisoners Foundation and Martyrs Foundation.
Item 3 of Article 10 gives this right to the Foundation itself and to every person with an interest. The objection is therefore not limited to the refused applicant: the Foundation can also object to a coverage decision it considers wrong. The decisions concerned are those of the Special Committee and of the Rafha detainees' committee.
Under paragraph (d) of item 5 of Article 7, the Appeals Body is chaired by a judge whom the Supreme Judicial Council nominates, with four Foundation employees as members. Its task is to examine appeals from those whose applications were refused. The Foundation's website shows an e-service called "Appeals Body grievances", and results are published in batches.
The grievance period is thirty days counted from when the person learned of the decision or is deemed notified of it. The notification date, or the date the decision was published in a way that counts as notification, is therefore the first thing to fix in the file.
Item 4 of Article 10 gives anyone whose appeal the Appeals Body rejects the right to go to the Administrative Judiciary Court within thirty days after being notified of the result, and the court's judgment can be challenged according to law. Item 5 makes the formal procedures of the committees subject to the Civil Procedure Law.
| Stage | Body | Time limit | Runs from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grievance against the Special Committee's decision | Appeals Body | 30 days | Knowledge of the decision or deemed notification (Article 10, item 3) |
| Challenge to the Appeals Body's decision | Administrative Judiciary Court | 30 days | Notification of the appeal result (Article 10, item 4) |
| Request for reconsideration or cancellation of coverage | Special Committee or Appeals Body | Decided within 60 days | Date the request is filed (Article 4 of the Instructions as amended in 2026) |
Law No. 10 of 2025 added paragraph (e) to item 5 of Article 7: one or more committees called the "Reconsideration Committee", each chaired by a legal employee with at least five years of actual service, with four Foundation employees as members. Its task is 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 recommendations to the Foundation's head for approval; the special committees are bound by them, and the Appeals Body reconsiders its decisions in line with them.
This route does not cancel the Article 10 time limits and does not replace them for new decisions. It is reserved for non-coverage decisions issued under the 2013 amendment.
Instructions No. 1 of 2024 on facilitating implementation of the law, as amended by Instructions No. 1 of 2026, give every person with an interest the right to request reconsideration of decisions issued under the amended law if they breached its provisions. A committee formed by the Foundation's head examines the request and recommends either filing it away or referring it back to the committee that issued the decision.
Article 3 of the Instructions covers the opposite case: information or reports casting doubt on a final coverage decision. If they rest on acceptable grounds, reconsideration or cancellation of coverage is requested, and a retrial may be sought before the Administrative Judiciary Court where coverage came from its judgment. Rights are then suspended temporarily until the matter is decided.
Thirty days from learning of the decision or being deemed notified of it.
Yes, before the Administrative Judiciary Court within thirty days after being notified of the appeal result.
If the non-coverage decision was issued while Law No. 35 of 2013 was being applied, the Reconsideration Committee is the body the 2025 amendment created for such decisions.
The Instructions allow reports questioning a coverage decision to be examined, and the grant of rights may be suspended temporarily until a decision is reached.
The office calculates time limits from the notification paper and reviews the reasons for refusal in the decision itself.
Iraq's 2025 Political Prisoners Law amendment: welfare fund, Reconsideration Committee, land, retirement choice, Kurdistan prisoners, salary transfer.
Read →The Political Prisoners Welfare Fund under Law 10 of 2025: legal personality, a 2 per cent subscription cap, and welfare purposes.
Read →What Law 23 of 2024 changed in the Martyrs Foundation Law: categories, committees, land and the Martyrs Fund, from the official text.
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