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
Rights of those wounded as victims of terrorism and war operations
In briefArticle 1 after the First Amendment makes it an aim of the law to compensate the injured person, determine the gravity of the harm and provide care in several fields. The entitlement is built on the medical committee’s report and the subcommittee’s decision. The first report may be revisited if the condition worsens, and the National Pension Authority requests a fresh examination every five years.
The phrase “rights of those wounded as victims of terrorism” covers a person injured in a terrorist operation, in a war operation or by a military error, and the wounded of the Popular Mobilization Forces and the Peshmerga, if they fall within Article 1 of Law No. 20 of 2009 after the First Amendment. The framework of rights after a coverage decision is read with the article Compensation for the wounded; cash compensation amounts in specific articles are read from the text in force at the time of payment.
What makes up the right after an injury?
First: a decision of the medical committee (Article 8(1) of Instructions No. 4 of 2018) establishing the injury and its rating. Without a medical report finding that the injury resulted from the covered operations and assessing the disability rating, the application remains incomplete. The law distributes compensation across bands of disability — including 75% to 100%, 50% to 74%, and less than 50% — and the amounts are read from the text in force at the time of payment.
Second: care, programmes and facilities in the legal, economic, social, financial, health, educational and cultural fields, under Article 1(2). Among the educational rules added by Law No. 2 of 2020 is an obligation on the Department of Studies and Planning in the Ministry of Higher Education to grant each category of martyrs — including victims of terrorism and the Popular Mobilization Forces and the Peshmerga — a 10% share of morning undergraduate study and a 10% share of evening undergraduate study. That text was enacted in the context of categories of martyrs; whether it applies to the wounded person themselves is read from its wording and from the instructions, and is not widened without a basis.
Third: the possibility of changing the job title of a person who, after appointment, obtains an equal or higher qualification, and of counting that qualification as an exception to Instructions No. 5 of 1976, under the clause added by Law No. 2 of 2020, which also applies to persons covered by other laws the text names. Fourth: if the condition worsens, an application to revisit the first report is filed under Article 5 of Instructions No. 4 of 2018, as in the article A worsening injury after a decision. Fifth: a re-examination every five years at the request of the National Pension Authority (Hay’at al-Taqa‘ud al-Wataniyya) under Article 8 of the Instructions, a path distinct from worsening, explained in Medical re-examination every five years.
Compensation under this law may not be combined with compensation for the same harm under another law; if the injured person has received a lower compensation, the difference is granted, under Article 8 of the law. Details are in Combining compensation benefits.
If the decision is disputed
An objection to a subcommittee decision is brought before the central committee within sixty days from the day after notification. A challenge to a central-committee decision is brought before the Administrative Judiciary Court within thirty days from notification, then before the Supreme Administrative Court within thirty days from notification of the judgment or from its being deemed notified. The period is counted carefully, and the application is filed early. A wounded service member or security-force member should also read Compensation for a service member’s disability rating.
Legal basis and sources
- Law No. 20 of 2009, as amended — Article 1 after 57/2015
- Instructions No. 4 of 2018 — Articles 5 and 8
- Law No. 57 of 2015 — Article 1
- Law No. 2 of 2020 — education and job-title rules
- Law No. 20 of 2009, as amended — Article 8 on combining
Frequently asked questions
Is every person wounded in a terrorist attack covered automatically?
No. Coverage is by a committee decision after proof that the injury resulted from the operations the law names, and after the disability is assessed.
Is health care part of the law?
Article 1(2) mentions care and assistance in fields including health. Implementation is through the bodies the law and the instructions appoint, within the scope set out in the law and instructions.
What if my condition worsens after the decision?
An application for worsening is filed under the Instructions, and the medical committee revisits the first report.
Related topics and articles
- 01Medical 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.
- 02Compensation for a service member’s disability ratingA service member covered by Law 20 of 2009, as amended, is compensated according to the medical committee’s disability rating.
- 03The 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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 →