Civil Law in Iraq

The general rule is that a claim on an obligation, whatever its source, will not be heard against a defendant who denies it once it has been left unpursued without lawful excuse for fifteen years, subject to cases governed by special rules (Article 429). Claims for periodic, recurring rights, such as rent, interest and salaries, will not be heard after five years (Article 430). Some rights have a one-year period set by Article 431, including the claims of members of the liberal professions for their work, claims of merchants for goods supplied to non-merchants, and workers' wages.

A compensation claim arising from an unlawful act will not be heard after three years from the day on which the injured party became aware of the damage and of the person who caused it, and in any event will not be heard after fifteen years from the day the act occurred (Article 232).

Yes. The right to compensation covers moral damage: any infringement of another person's liberty, honour, dignity, reputation, social standing or financial standing makes the infringer liable for compensation. Spouses and close family members may be awarded compensation for moral damage resulting from the death of the injured person (Article 205).

The court assesses compensation according to the loss suffered by the injured party and the gain they were deprived of, provided this is a natural consequence of the unlawful act; loss of the use of property is included in the assessment (Article 207). The general rule is that any infringement causing harm to another requires compensation (Article 204).

In bilateral contracts, if one party fails to perform its obligation, the other party may, after serving formal notice, seek rescission together with compensation where appropriate. The court may grant the debtor time, or refuse rescission if the unperformed part is minor in relation to the obligation as a whole (Article 177).

As a rule, a contract is binding, and neither party may withdraw from or modify it except by law or by mutual consent. However, if exceptional events of a general nature occur that could not have been foreseen, and performance of the obligation becomes so onerous for the debtor that it threatens serious loss, the court may, after weighing the interests of both parties, reduce the onerous obligation to a reasonable level (Article 146, the doctrine of unforeseen circumstances).

It is a person's liability to compensate for damage caused to another by an unlawful act outside the scope of a contract, such as destroying another's property: the person who destroys the property is liable if they acted intentionally or by transgression (Article 186). It differs from contractual liability, which arises from breach of a contract.

The Civil Code sets out the general rules on leases, while real estate leases are subject to a special law, the Real Estate Rental Law No. 87 of 1979, as amended. Under a lease, if the tenant fails to pay rent that has fallen due, the landlord may rescind the lease (Civil Code, Article 177/2).