Lawyer for the Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in Iraq: The Legal Framework

Arbitration in Iraq rests on two sources: the Civil Procedure Law No. 83 of 1969, whose Part II on arbitration covers Arts. 251–276, and the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, to which Iraq acceded by Law No. 14 of 2021. This page sets out that framework from published sources.

It matters to foreign and Iraqi companies whose contracts contain an arbitration clause, or which hold or face an arbitral award they intend to rely on in Iraq.

Services in this area

Al-Taswia Legal Services Company, a law firm in Baghdad, has 15 lawyers whose work includes representing parties before the competent courts in applications for the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Iraq.

The New York Convention and Iraq

• Law No. 14 of 2021 on Iraq's accession to the Convention was published in the Official Gazette (Al-Waqa'i Al-Iraqiya) No. 4633 on 31 May 2021 (Ministry of Justice website). Art. 2 of the Law provides that it enters into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
• Accession was effected on 11 November 2021, and the Convention entered into force for Iraq on 9 February 2022 under Art. XII(2) (UN Secretary-General's Depositary Notification C.N.371.2021.TREATIES-XXII.1).
• Iraq acceded with three reservations: the Convention does not apply to arbitral awards made before the law enters into force; it applies to awards made in the territory of another Contracting State only on the basis of reciprocity; and it applies only to differences arising from contractual legal relations considered commercial under Iraqi law. The article Iraq's reservations to the New York Convention sets out the wording of each reservation and its published source.

What the Convention provides

• The Convention applies to the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards made in the territory of a State other than the State where recognition and enforcement are sought, and arising out of differences between persons, whether physical or legal (Art. I(1)).
• Each Contracting State recognises arbitral awards as binding and enforces them in accordance with the rules of procedure of the territory where the award is relied upon. No substantially more onerous conditions or higher fees or charges may be imposed than those imposed on the recognition or enforcement of domestic arbitral awards (Art. III).
• The applicant must supply, at the time of the application, the duly authenticated original award or a duly certified copy, and the original arbitration agreement or a duly certified copy, with a translation certified by an official or sworn translator or by a diplomatic or consular agent where the award or agreement is not in an official language of the country where the award is relied upon (Art. IV).
• Recognition and enforcement may be refused, at the request of the party against whom the award is invoked, only if that party furnishes proof of one of five grounds in Art. V(1): incapacity of the parties to the agreement under the law applicable to them, or invalidity of the agreement; lack of proper notice of the appointment of the arbitrator or of the arbitration proceedings, or inability to present its case; an award beyond the scope of the submission to arbitration; a tribunal composition or procedure not in accordance with the parties' agreement or the law of the country where the arbitration took place; or an award that has not yet become binding on the parties, or has been set aside or suspended by a competent authority of the country in which, or under the law of which, it was made.
• Recognition and enforcement may also be refused if the competent authority in the country where they are sought finds that the subject matter of the difference is not capable of settlement by arbitration under the law of that country, or that recognition or enforcement would be contrary to the public policy of that country (Art. V(2)).
• If an application for the setting aside or suspension of the award has been made to a competent authority referred to in Art. V(1)(e), the authority before which the award is sought to be relied upon may, if it considers it proper, adjourn the decision on enforcement, and may also, on the application of the party claiming enforcement, order the other party to give suitable security (Art. VI).
• The Convention does not deprive any interested party of any right to avail itself of an arbitral award in the manner and to the extent allowed by the law or the treaties of the country where the award is sought to be relied upon (Art. VII(1)).

Civil Procedure Law No. 83 of 1969: arbitration

Arts. 251–276 deal with arbitration, including:

• "An agreement to arbitrate a specific dispute is permitted. An agreement to arbitrate all disputes arising from the performance of a specific contract is also permitted" (Art. 251).
• An agreement to arbitrate is proved only in writing, and the subject of the dispute is specified in it (Art. 252).
• The arbitrators must give a copy of their award to each party and deliver the award, together with the original arbitration agreement, to the court competent over the dispute within the three days following its issuance, against a receipt signed by the court clerk (Art. 271).
• "An arbitrators' award is not enforced before the Execution Departments, whether the arbitrators were appointed by the court or by agreement, unless it is ratified by the court competent over the dispute at the request of one of the parties and after payment of the prescribed fees" (Art. 272(1)); an arbitrators' award is enforced only against the parties who submitted to arbitration and only in respect of the matter for which arbitration took place (Art. 272(2)).
• Grounds for nullity of an arbitrators' award: it was issued without written evidence, or on a void agreement, or it exceeded the limits of the agreement; it violates a rule of public order or morals or a rule of arbitration set out in the Law; a ground for retrial exists; or a substantial error occurred in the award or in the procedure affecting its validity (Art. 273).
• The court may ratify the arbitral award or annul it in whole or in part, and in case of annulment it may remit the case to the arbitrators to correct the defect in the award or decide the dispute itself (Art. 274).

In decision No. 263/Expanded Civil Panel/2025 of 23 November 2025 (Supreme Judicial Council website), concerning an award made on 3 September 2021 by an international arbitral tribunal in London, the Expanded Civil Panel of the Federal Court of Cassation stated that the Convention is in effect for Iraq from 9 February 2022, that the award was "not covered by the New York Convention", and that "the arbitration provisions of the Civil Procedure Law, Arts. (251–276), are those that apply to the arbitral award". The Court quashed the appeal judgment, which had recognised the award under the Convention.

FAQ

Has Iraq acceded to the New York Convention? Yes, by Law No. 14 of 2021, published in the Official Gazette No. 4633 on 31 May 2021. The Convention entered into force for Iraq on 9 February 2022 (UN Secretary-General's Depositary Notification C.N.371.2021.TREATIES-XXII.1).

What reservations did Iraq make? Three: no application to awards made before the law enters into force; application to awards made in another Contracting State only on the basis of reciprocity; and application only to differences arising from contractual legal relations considered commercial under Iraqi law.

What documents does the Convention require for an application for recognition and enforcement? The duly authenticated original award or a certified copy, the original arbitration agreement or a certified copy, and a certified translation where needed (Art. IV).

Is an arbitrators' award enforced directly before the Execution Department under the Civil Procedure Law? No. Art. 272(1) of the Civil Procedure Law provides that an arbitrators' award is not enforced before the Execution Departments unless the court competent over the dispute ratifies it at the request of one of the parties and after payment of the prescribed fees.

On what grounds can recognition and enforcement of a foreign award be refused? The grounds are set out in Art. V of the Convention: five grounds that the party against whom the award is invoked must prove (Art. V(1)), and two that the competent authority in the country where recognition and enforcement are sought verifies: non-arbitrability of the subject matter and public policy (Art. V(2)).

What is the effect of the Convention's entry into force for Iraq on 9 February 2022 on an award made before that date? In decision No. 263/Expanded Civil Panel/2025 of 23 November 2025, the award made on 3 September 2021 was "not covered by the New York Convention", and the arbitration provisions of the Civil Procedure Law (Arts. 251–276) apply to it.

Source: Law No. 14 of 2021 on the accession of the Republic of Iraq to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York, 1958) (Official Gazette No. 4633, 31 May 2021); text of the Convention (United Nations); UN Secretary-General's Depositary Notification C.N.371.2021.TREATIES-XXII.1 of 16 November 2021; Civil Procedure Law No. 83 of 1969; decision No. 263/Expanded Civil Panel/2025 of 23 November 2025 of the Federal Court of Cassation (Supreme Judicial Council website). This page provides general legal information.

By Othman Al-Juboori, Founder and Managing Director of Al-Taswia, Iraqi lawyer and expert in Iraqi labour law, Member of the Iraqi Bar Association.

See also

• Enforcement of foreign judgments in Iraq
• Legal Risks in Iraqi Energy and Infrastructure Contracts
• Debt recovery
• Civil law