The Supreme Administrative Court in Iraq: the challenge and the time limit
The Supreme Administrative Court hears cassation within 30 days of notification or deemed notification, under the amended Article 7.
Read →State employees and official discipline
Step-by-step procedure for imposing a disciplinary penalty
In briefImposing a penalty starts with a referral and an investigation — by a committee, or by questioning within the three lightest penalties — then a recommendation and a decision by the official who holds the power under Articles 11, 12 and 14, and a written order notified to the employee. Notification opens the Article 15 grievance period.
This page sets out the steps from the appearance of a breach to notification of the order, and shows who may impose a penalty at each level. The committee is explained on the investigative committee, the exception on whether a penalty may be imposed without a committee, and the types of penalty on disciplinary penalties.
The wider framework is on State employee discipline in Iraq.
First step: referral and the form of investigation
If an employee is alleged to have breached a duty or committed a prohibited act, the minister or head of department refers the employee for investigation. The rule is to form an investigative committee under Article 10, First. The exception in Article 10, Fourth, allows, after questioning the employee, the direct imposition of drawing attention, a warning or deduction from pay, without the full committee process. Anything heavier is not shortened to questioning alone.
At this stage the referral order, the committee’s formation letter or the questioning record, and what the employee was told about the alleged breach, are all kept. If the employee must be kept away from the post, suspension from duty is a separate path, not a penalty in the Article 8 table; its duration is on the duration of suspension and challenging the order.
Second step: the minute and the recommendation
The committee investigates in writing, hears statements, inspects documents, and then draws up a reasoned minute and recommendation: that the employee not be held to account and the investigation be closed, or that one of the Article 8 penalties be imposed, or that the employee be referred to the “competent courts” if the act appears to be a crime arising from the post or committed in an official capacity. The minute is sent up to the official who referred the employee. That official may approve, mitigate, or return the papers to fill a gap, and should not sign what was never examined.
If it appears to the minister, the head of department or a person delegated by the minister that the act is a crime arising from the post or committed in an official capacity, referral to the “competent courts” is required under Article 24, even if the recommendation has not clearly reached that point. The line of referral is explained in When is a State employee referred to the courts?.
Third step: who issues the penalty order?
The power is not the same for every penalty. Under Article 11, read with Article 10, the minister may impose any of the Article 8 penalties. The head of department, or a delegated official, may impose drawing attention, a warning, deduction from pay for up to five days, and a reprimand. If the committee recommends a heavier penalty than the head of department may impose, the papers are referred to the minister for decision.
Article 12 sets a special limit for a person who holds the post of director-general or above: the minister may impose drawing attention, a warning or deduction from pay. If the investigation shows that the act calls for a heavier penalty than that official may impose, the matter is put to the Council of Ministers with a proposal to impose the penalty. An employee covered by this article may challenge the penalty under Article 15.
Article 14 allows the President of the Republic, or a person delegated by the President, to impose any of the penalties on employees under him, and allows the Prime Minister, the minister or the head of an entity not linked to a ministry to impose reduction of pay, demotion in grade, dismissal or removal on an employee of that ministry or entity. Those decisions too are challenged under Article 15. More than one penalty may not be imposed for a single act, under Article 20.
The order is issued in writing, and the employee is notified of the act or the breach, according to the description of each penalty in Article 8. Without proof of notification, the grievance period is hard to start.
After notification: grievance, then the court
From the date the employee is notified of the penalty decision, a grievance is submitted to the body that issued it within thirty days, that body must decide it within thirty days, and a claim is then filed in the Court of Employees’ Judiciary within thirty days of actual or deemed refusal of the grievance, under Article 15. The court’s judgment may be challenged in cassation before the Supreme Administrative Court within thirty days of notification. The path is on grievance and the claim and on cassation.
| Step | Source | Usual product |
|---|---|---|
| Referral for investigation | Article 10 | A referral order and a committee, or questioning |
| Minute and recommendation | Article 10, Second and Third | Closure, a proposed penalty, or a criminal referral |
| Issuing the order by the official who holds the power | Articles 11, 12 and 14 | A written order |
| Notification | Article 15 (start of the period) | A date from which the grievance runs |
| Grievance, claim, then cassation | Article 15 and Article 7(9) of Law No. 65 of 1979 as amended | A final decision if not challenged in time |
The chain of authority and notification is followed from the papers. The order is drafted under the authority and the procedure in the text in force.
Legal basis and sources
- Law on the Discipline of State and Public Sector Employees No. 14 of 1991
- First Amendment Law No. 5 of 2008
- Second Amendment Law No. 51 of 2012
Frequently asked questions
May the head of department impose dismissal?
Dismissal and removal fall outside what the head of department may impose under Article 11, Second. If the committee recommends a heavier penalty, the papers go to the minister, or Article 14 is followed according to the employee’s position.
When does the grievance period start?
From the date the employee is notified of the penalty decision, not from the date of the minute alone if notification comes later.
Is an oral decision enough?
The penalties in Article 8 are imposed by a written order or a written notice, according to each paragraph. Writing is the file’s evidence.
Related topics and articles
- 01The investigative committee and the employee’s rights during the investigationHow an investigative committee is formed under Article 10 of Law No. 14 of 1991, the employee’s rights, and when referral to the courts is recommended.
- 02May a State employee be punished without an investigative committee, or twice for the same act?When a disciplinary penalty may be imposed after questioning without a committee, and why two penalties may not be imposed for one act.
- 03Disciplinary penalties under the State employee discipline lawDisciplinary penalties in Law No. 14 of 1991, from a written reminder to removal (azl), and how each penalty affects promotion.
- 04Grievance against a disciplinary penalty and appeal to the Court of Employees’ JudiciaryA disciplinary penalty is first challenged by grievance, then appealed to the Court of Employees’ Judiciary under Article 15 of Law No. 14 of 1991.
- 05Suspension from duty (sahb al-yad): when it is ordered and how it affects paySuspension from duty (sahb al-yad) under Articles 16 to 19 of Law No. 14 of 1991: when it is ordered, how long it lasts, and half pay.
Grievance against an administrative decision in Iraq
A grievance is required before filing in the Administrative Judiciary Court: 30 days from notification, 30 days to decide, then 60 days to claim.
Read →When is a State employee referred to the courts under the discipline law?
Under the State employee discipline law, an investigation may stay in the department, or lead to referral if the act appears to be a job-related crime.
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