LECTURE 6: THE CURRENT LEGAL AND POLITICAL SITUATION IN IRAQ AND THE KRG

LET’S HAVE A QUICK STRETCH.

DR. AZZAM ALWASH Founder and CEO of Nature Iraq, a nongovernmental

agency that works to protect, restore, and preserve Iraq’s natural environment

Postgraduate degree and a doctorate in civil engineering from the University of Southern California

20 years working with Pacific Soils Engineering, a consulting firm specializing in geologic, geotechnical, and environmental services in Southern California.

Recipient of the 2013 Goldman Prize for excellence in protecting the environment.  

Foreign Policy's 100 Leading Global Thinkers in 2013

Presentation, then Q & A

HTTP://WWW.NATUREIRAQ.ORG

We thank Dr. Azzam.

OBJECTIVES

Today, students will be introduced to the basic framework of Iraqi / KRG law regarding water.

POLICY: A COURSE OF ACTION OR INACTION IN RESPONSE TO SOCIAL PROBLEMS

WHAT POWERS DO LAWS HAVE?

I have good news and I have bad news:

Laws have exactly and only the power that we

give them.

THE RULE OF LAW

The authority and influence of law in society, esp. when viewed as a constraint on individual and institutional behaviour

The principle whereby all members of a society (including those in government) are considered equally subject to publicly disclosed legal codes and processes.

(Oxford English Dictionary)

“THE LAW IS WHATEVER I WRITE ON A PIECE OF PAPER.”

The amazing thing is not that some countries lack the Rule of Law. The amazing thing is that the Rule of Law exists at

all.

WHY WOULD PEOPLE INTENTIONALLY LIMIT THEIR OWN POWER?

Utility. It’s a good trade.

WHEN PEOPLE SEE NO UTILITY TO LAW, GOVERNMENT LOSES IT LEGITIMACY.

LECTURE 6: THE CURRENT LEGAL AND POLITICAL SITUATION IN IRAQ AND THE KRG

WE ARE CONCERNED WITH FOUR DOCUMENTS:

Iraqi Federal ConstitutionKurdistan Regional ConstitutionLaw Number 27 of 2009: For

Protection and Improvement of Environment (KRG)

Law Number 8, for the year 2008:

Law of the Environmental Protection and Improvement in Iraqi Kurdistan Region

IRAQI CONSTITUTION

Article 30: The State shall guarantee to the individual and the family – especially children and women – social and health security, the basic requirements for living a free and decent life, and shall secure for them suitable income and appropriate housing.

Article 33: Every individual has the right to live in safe environmental conditions. The State shall undertake the protection and preservation of the environment and its biological diversity.

IRAQI CONSTITUTION: ARTICLE 114 The following competencies shall be shared between

the federal authorities and regional authorities: Third: To formulate environmental policy to ensure

the protection of the environment from pollution and to preserve its cleanliness, in cooperation with the regions and governorates that are not organized in a region.

Fifth: To formulate public health policy, in cooperation with the regions and governorates that are not organized in a region.

Seventh: To formulate and regulate the internal water resources policy in a way that guarantees their just distribution, and this shall be regulated by a law.

IRAQI CONSTITUTION: ARTICLE 121

First: The regional powers shall have the right to exercise executive, legislative, and judicial powers in accordance with this Constitution, except for those authorities stipulated in the exclusive authorities of the federal government.

Second: . . . The regional power shall have the right to amend the application of the national legislation within that region.

KRG CONSTITUTION: ARTICLE 3

In the event that the federal law deals with matters within the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal authorities . . . or with other matters outside this jurisdiction, this shall not detract from the sovereignty and supremacy or the constitution and laws of the Kurdistan region, nor shall it limit the powers of the region’s authorities.

KRG CONSTITUTION: ARTICLE 16

. . . all Regional Authorities must protect the environment, the essential means of subsistence, and the natural and human environment in the Kurdistan Region. The law shall regulate the establishment of protected areas, wild areas, natural parks and public gardens, in order to protect nature, wildlife, wilderness and natural plants and animals, and to preserve them in their natural state.

LAW NUMBER 27 OF 2009: FOR PROTECTION AND IMPROVEMENT OF ENVIRONMENT (KRG)

LAW NUMBER 8, FOR THE YEAR 2008: LAW OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND IMPROVEMENT IN IRAQI KURDISTAN REGION

THE TREATY BETWEEN IRAQ & TURKEYThere isn’t one.

BREAK

Around the room, quick-quick.

ELEVATOR SPEECHES

I have NOT recorded your RD grade.

Yes, seriously.

YOU MUST SUBMIT YOUR RD WITH YOUR FD.

YOUR ESSAYS

More details! “Social media” Facebook, twitter, tumblr,

What?

HOMEWORK

Read and understand Chapter 6 of Comparative Environmental Politics: Business and CSR.

Read Chapters 4 and 7 of Homer-Dixon.

Rough draft due at 5:00PM