Compensation for those injured in terrorist operations: who hears the claim, and what is examined?
Injury compensation under Law No. 20 of 2009: claims usually go to the sub-committee, which examines the incident link and the medical report.
Read →A claim for compensation after an injury in a terrorist operation
May compensation under Law 20 of 2009 be combined with another compensation for the same harm?
In briefArticle 8 provides that compensation under this law may not be combined with compensation for the same harms under another law. If the injured person has received compensation that is less than what they are entitled to under this law, the difference between what was paid and what is due is granted. The rule concerns the same harm, and is not extended to every entitlement under a different law without reading both texts. It is distinct from combining Martyrs Foundation salaries.
“May two compensations be combined?” In the Iraqi context of files arising from terrorist and war operations, the answer is read first from Article 8 of Law No. 20 of 2009, as amended — which remains in the consolidated text — not from general civil-law maxims or from practice outside Iraq. Each entitlement follows its own statutory basis in the text in force.
What does Article 8 say?
“Compensation provided for in this law may not be combined with compensation for the same harms under another law, and if the injured person has received compensation that is less than what they are entitled to under this law, they shall be granted the difference between what was paid to them and what they became entitled to under this law.” The meaning is twofold: combining is barred for the same harm if there is compensation under another law; and the shortfall is made up if what was paid is less than what this law decides.
The decisive phrase is “the same harms”. Not every grant or salary under another law is automatically compensation for the same harm, and not every parallel claim is barred without characterisation. The subject of the compensation is examined: a single injury, or a single property damaged in the same incident, or a single martyrdom claimed twice. If that description applies, two full amounts are not obtained for the same subject. If less was paid, the difference is claimed, not the full amount a second time.
This rule is not to be confused with the page on combining entitlements of the Martyrs Foundation and the Political Prisoners Foundation, which is a path of salaries and privileges under Martyrs Foundation Law No. 2 of 2016, for a period of twenty-five years from the entry into force of the repealed Law No. 3 of 2006. A person covered by both foundations, or by Law 20 and by the Foundation law together, reads each text in its place, and does not apply Article 8 to a Foundation salary, or the reverse, without a basis.
How does the bar appear in practice?
In property: a person who has received compensation for the same harm under another law — whatever its path — does not combine it with Law 20 compensation for the same property and the same harm, and the difference is considered if what was paid falls short. In injury: compensation for the same disability rating under another law is read with Article 8 before the full amount is claimed here. In martyrdom: a repeated claim for the same incident under two laws is tested against this article. The subcommittee, the central committee and the Ministry of Finance have an interest in preventing double payment for the same subject; a declaration of what has already been paid may therefore be requested. Concealment exposes the decision to objection by the Ministry of Finance or by a person with an interest within sixty days, and then to a judicial challenge within its periods.
Article 8 is not used to drop a right that has not been paid at all, and not to bar a claim for the difference. If the injured person disputes the characterisation of “the same harms”, or the calculation of the difference, an objection to the central committee and then a challenge before the Administrative Judiciary Court and the Supreme Administrative Court run for the familiar periods: sixty days, then thirty, then thirty.
Legal basis and sources
Frequently asked questions
May I combine injury compensation and house compensation if both were harmed together?
They are two different kinds of harm: an injury and property. Article 8 bars combining “the same harms” under another law, not necessarily two different harms in the same incident under this law.
What if a smaller amount was paid to me under another law?
The difference between what was paid and what is due under Law 20 is granted, under the second limb of Article 8.
Is this the same as combining a Martyrs Foundation salary?
No. Combining Foundation salaries is a separate page in the foundations area.
Related topics and articles
- 01Combining entitlements from the Political Prisoners and Martyrs Foundations with other salariesCombining two salaries for martyrs' families and political prisoners in Iraq: combining periods, Law No. 20 of 2009, and the bar on double benefit.
- 02Rights of those wounded as victims of terrorism and war operationsA person wounded in a terrorist or war operation, or by a military error, and covered by Law 20 of 2009, has compensation based on the disability rating.
- 03Compensation for property damaged by terrorist and military operationsCompensation for homes, shops and vehicles damaged by terrorism, war operations or military errors under Iraq's Law No. 20 of 2009.
- 04Amendments to Compensation Law No. 20 of 2009Law 20 of 2009 on compensation was amended twice: Law 57 of 2015 and Law 2 of 2020 changed the committees, objection periods and court review.
- 05The compensation sub-committee and the Central Committee: who decides what?The governorate compensation sub-committee, the Central Committee in Baghdad and ministry committees under Iraq's Law No. 20 of 2009.
Injury worsened after the decision: what are the options?
Injured in a terrorist operation and the injury worsened after the compensation decision? When to request reconsideration and what papers it takes.
Read →Practical scenarios in compensation files
General practical scenarios under Law 20 of 2009, as amended: missing documents, a deed of death, a timely objection, a transfer, and payment priority.
Read →