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
The deed of absence of a missing or kidnapped person in a compensation file
In briefInstructions No. 4 of 2018 require a missing or kidnapped person’s file to include investigative papers, a judicial announcement, a deed of absence and appointment of a guardian, and a letter confirming a file at the Department for the Care of Minors. The deed is issued by the Personal Status Court, or the Personal Matters Court for non-Muslims. The subcommittee treats the missing person as a martyr for pension purposes until a deed of death is issued.
Disappearance and kidnapping are among the harms covered by Compensation Law No. 20 of 2009, as amended. Before the subcommittee issues its decision, documents proving the disappearance or kidnapping are completed, most prominently a “deed of absence” and the appointment of a guardian (qayyim). This page distinguishes that deed from a declaration of death of a missing person and from a deed of death, and sets out what Instructions No. 4 of 2018 require.
What does a missing or kidnapped person’s file contain?
Article 2 of the Instructions provides that the file includes: a certified copy of the investigative papers drawn up by the police station; a copy of the announcement of the disappearance or kidnapping issued by the court — the Personal Status Court, or the Personal Matters Court if the person is not a Muslim, according to their personal-status law; a copy of the deed of absence and of the appointment of a guardian over the missing or kidnapped person; and a letter confirming that a special file has been opened at the Department for the Care of Minors.
The ministry, the body not attached to a ministry, or the governorate in which the missing or kidnapped person works then approaches the Directorate of Civil Status, Passports and Residence to confirm that the person said to be missing or kidnapped has not left the Republic of Iraq through a border crossing, including crossings in the Kurdistan Region. This step prevents the file from being built on an absence that has not been checked against travel records. If the missing person is an employee, the Instructions mention payment of their salary after the procedures in Article 4 of the Instructions are completed, on the basis of dissolved Revolutionary Command Council Decision No. 88 of 1987, until death is established in fact or by judgment. The conditions and procedures for paying that salary are read from Article 4 of the Instructions and from the decision itself.
What does the subcommittee do after the disappearance is established?
Article 3 of the Instructions: the subcommittee issues compensation decisions for the citizen after the disappearance or kidnapping is established, and processes the pension file. At this stage the missing or kidnapped person is treated as a martyr for the purpose of receiving the pension salary in accordance with the law. The National Pension Authority (Hay’at al-Taqa‘ud al-Wataniyya) continues to pay the salary to the citizen’s family “as a martyr” until a deed of death is issued. After the deed of death is issued, the subcommittee issues its decision on whether or not to treat the missing or kidnapped person as a martyr, in accordance with the law.
The deed is therefore not the end of the file, and does not by itself replace a coverage decision. It is a mistake for the family to stop following the file after a deed of absence as if martyrdom had been finally established; final proof of death — in fact or by judgment — and then the committee’s decision after the deed of death, are later stages. The distribution of the salary and the family’s rights after coverage are in Compensation for a martyr’s family.
The deed of absence is sought from the Personal Status Court (or the Personal Matters Court for non-Muslims), not from the subcommittee itself. The committee receives a copy of it with the file. The text in this place does not set a fixed period for issuing the deed or a single street address for every court. Disappearance is declared by a court decision; for members of the armed forces and the internal security forces, a decision of the Minister of Defence or the Minister of Interior takes its place (Article 87 of Minors Welfare Law No. 78 of 1980).
Legal basis and sources
- Instructions No. 4 of 2018 — Articles 2 and 3 (Al-Waqa’i Al-Iraqiya No. 4516 of 5/11/2018)
- Law No. 20 of 2009, as amended — coverage of disappearance and kidnapping
Frequently asked questions
Is a deed of absence a judgment of death?
No. The deed establishes the absence and appoints a guardian. A judgment of death and a deed of death are a later stage, explained on a separate page.
Who issues the deed of absence?
The Personal Status Court, or the Personal Matters Court for non-Muslims.
Is a salary paid before death is established?
The Instructions treat the missing or kidnapped person as a martyr for pension purposes after the disappearance is established and the committee has decided, and the National Pension Authority continues payment until the deed of death, after which the decision on treating the person as a martyr is revisited.
What about investigative papers?
A certified copy of the police investigation is part of the file. If the family could not complete death papers, see the page on investigative papers.
Related topics and articles
- 01A declaration of death of a missing person, and the deed of death, in the compensation lawAfter death is established in fact or by judgment, a deed of death is issued, then the subcommittee decides on martyr status.
- 02Documents required in a compensation fileDocuments in a compensation file differ for injury, martyrdom, disappearance and property, under Law 20 of 2009 as amended and Instructions 4 of 2018.
- 03Investigative papers in deaths covered by the compensation lawLaw 2 of 2020 requires the bodies concerned to facilitate investigative papers in deaths the family could not complete for reasons beyond their control.
- 04Compensation for the families of martyrs, missing and kidnapped persons under Law No. 20 of 2009Who counts as a martyr's family under Iraq's Law No. 20 of 2009, how grants are shared, and how a missing or kidnapped person's file proceeds.
- 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.
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