Compensation for the families of martyrs, missing and kidnapped persons under Law No. 20 of 2009

When a terrorist operation ends with the injured person dying, the right does not end with the death; it passes to the martyr's family. The family files the claim with the sub-committee in the governorate, or with the ministry committee if the martyr was a State employee, on the basis of the investigation papers, the death certificate and the Sharia inheritance deed (qassam shar'i). The files of missing and kidnapped persons go through a court declaration of missing status first. This page explains who the martyr's family are under this Law and how the file proceeds.

The overall framework is on the Compensation for People Injured in Terrorist Operations page.

Who is the martyr's family under the compensation Law?

Article 10 of the Law, in its original text, lists the martyr's family as: the parents, the sons, the daughters, the husband or wives, and the brothers and sisters. It then sets how rights are distributed:

• Grants are distributed according to Sharia inheritance shares, which is why the file requires the inheritance deed.
• A minor's share is paid to the guardian or curator, who must spend it in the minor's interest, which is why a guardianship or curatorship deed is required where there is a minor.
• The pension is distributed among those entitled under the pension law in force, subject to the exceptions in this Law.

The 2020 amendment added detailed rules for particular situations. For a martyr who was single, divorced or widowed and whose parents have died, the pension and the residential plot pass to full brothers and sisters, and to half-siblings where there are none. It also added rules for the martyr's widow depending on whether she remarries and whether she has children by the martyr, and for a martyr married to more than one wife, where each wife and her entitled children enjoy the rights of a single family. These are detailed rules, and the office reads them against the text for each family separately.

How does a martyr's file begin?

The file of a martyr's family rests on:

1. Proof of the event and its link to a covered operation: usually the investigation papers prepared by the police station.
2. Proof of death: the death certificate or an extract of the death record.
3. Proof of the heirs' standing: the inheritance deed, and a guardianship or curatorship deed where there is a minor.

Some families struggle to obtain investigation papers for reasons beyond their control, for example where the event took place in an area of operations or in years of disorder. The 2020 amendment addressed this expressly: the relevant authorities must facilitate the issue of investigation papers for deaths that the family could not complete for reasons beyond their control.

Where the martyr's family lives in a governorate other than the one where the event took place, the 2018 Instructions authorise the sub-committee, where necessary, to transfer the compensation file to the governorate where the family of the martyr, missing or kidnapped person lives, with the approval of the Department of Martyrs of Those Harmed by War Operations, Military Errors and Terrorist Operations.

Missing and kidnapped persons: a different path

Missing and kidnapped persons are not treated as martyrs from day one, because death is not established. The 2018 Instructions set steps for their files, including:

• a certified copy of the investigation papers prepared at the police station;
• a declaration of missing or kidnapped status from the Personal Status Court, or the Court of Personal Matters for non-Muslims;
• a deed of missing status appointing a curator for the missing or kidnapped person;
• opening a file for the missing person at the Minors' Care Department.

Once missing status is established, the sub-committee issues the compensation decision and the pension file is processed, and the missing or kidnapped person is treated as a martyr for pension purposes. After a death declaration is issued, the committee decides whether he or she is considered a martyr under the Law. If the missing person was an employee, the employing body checks with the authorities that he or she did not leave Iraq through a border crossing before the salary continues.

Relationship with the Martyrs Foundation

The Law itself created within the Martyrs Foundation a department named the "Department of Martyrs of Those Harmed by War Operations, Military Errors and Terrorist Operations", which follows the affairs of martyrs and injured persons covered by the Law in all fields. The sub-committees send their final decisions to this department to follow up the rights and privileges and forward them to the National Pension Authority. But coverage of victims of terrorism under this Law does not make it identical in every rule to the track under the Martyrs Foundation Law No. 2 of 2016; each has its own categories and conditions. The page Political Prisoners Foundation and Martyrs Foundation covers the other track.

What the office does for a martyr's family

• identifies the body for the claim: the sub-committee or the ministry committee;
• reviews the investigation papers, the death certificate and the inheritance deed and checks that they are consistent;
• follows the issue of a missing-status or death declaration before the Personal Status Court, or the Court of Personal Matters for non-Muslims, where a missing person's file calls for it;
• studies the decision after notification and assesses whether an objection before the Central Committee is worthwhile within its period.

The amount of compensation or the pension is read from the article applicable to the deceased person’s status and to those with standing, and from the committee’s decision once proof is complete.

Legal basis and sources

1. Law No. 20 of 2009, Articles 2 and 10 — Al-Waqai Al-Iraqiya, issue 4140
2. Second Amendment Law No. 2 of 2020 (Al-Waqai Al-Iraqiya, issue 4571)
3. Instructions No. 4 of 2018 (Al-Waqai Al-Iraqiya, issue 4516) — Articles 2, 3 and 6
4. Law No. 20 of 2009 on Compensation of Those Affected by Military Operations, Military Errors and Terrorist Operations, Articles 2 and 10 (Al-Waqai Al-Iraqiya, issue 4140).

Frequently asked questions

Related topics and articles

• 01The 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.
• 02Military errors and war operations: who else does the Law compensate besides victims of terrorism?Iraq's Law No. 20 of 2009 also compensates people harmed by war operations and military errors, not only terrorism victims. How proof differs.
• 03Who is a martyr, and who are the martyr's family, under the Martyrs Foundation LawWho is a martyr's family in Iraqi law: parents, children, spouses, siblings and grandchildren, and the three martyr categories in Law No. 2 of 2016.
• 04Medical report and disability percentage in a terrorism injury compensation fileHow the medical committee sets the disability percentage for terrorism injuries in Iraq, how it shapes entitlement, and the five-yearly re-examination.
• 05Compensation 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.

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

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