Iraq’s top court sparks uproar after recognizing nine as age of maturity for girls
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s top court for ordinary judiciary, the Federal Court of Cassation, has sparked a fierce debate after recognizing nine as the age of discretion for females, based on its interpretation of recent amendments to the Personal Status Law. The move has drawn widespread criticism from experts who argue it dismantles protections for Iraqi children.
Yahya al-Kubaisi, a prominent Iraqi political researcher and academic, shared a formal judicial ruling issued by the Iraqi Federal Court of Cassation on November 17, 2024 that shows the court applying the Iraqi Personal Status Law, which allows for the recognition of girls as young as nine as “biologically mature.” The top court legally interpreted this as indicating they can also be considered “mentally mature,” thereby bypassing the 18-year age requirement set by the Iraqi Civil Code.
Slamming the move as “a legal scandal for the Court of Cassation,” Kubaisi wrote that the top court “comes today to decide that nine years is not just the age of puberty, but can also be the age of legal discretion for a female,” which “relates to cognitive maturity and the legal responsibility to make sound decisions.”
The Iraqi academic argued that “one can be pubescent without being mature,” asking, “How can we fix a judiciary that has lost its way?” and affirming that the move contradicts Article 106 of the Iraqi Civil Code which stipulates that “the age of discretion for both men and women is 18 years.”
The Iraqi Federal Court of Cassation - the highest judicial body in Iraq’s ordinary judiciary, responsible for civil, criminal, and personal status cases - based its interpretation on the Iraqi Personal Status Law. The Iraqi parliament in January 2025 passed amendments to the law allowing Iraqis to choose between civil law and religious codes in family matters. The move then prompted concerns about creating two parallel legal systems within one country and undermining the principle of equality before the law.
However, the greatest controversy regarding the law centered on the potential lowering of the marriage age.
While the final text of the amendment kept the legal marriage age at 18 - or 15 with a judge’s permission - it granted religious authorities the power to draft their own “codes of jurisprudence” - specifically the Jaafari Code for Shiite Muslims. This sparked fears that marriages involving girls as young as nine could be permitted under certain traditional interpretations and legalized through unregistered marriage contracts that the state is now required to recognize.
Moreover, the amendments are seen as a major rollback of protections for women. Under the Jaafari Code, a husband’s preference can take precedence in disputes over divorce or child custody, as some provisions allow for the automatic transfer of child custody to the father once a child reaches a certain age.
Of note, to ensure the of the controversial amendments to the Personal Status Law, political blocs in early 2025 bundled them into a single vote alongside two other major bills: the General Amnesty Law and the Property Restitution Law. This single basket strategy forced different political factions to support laws they might otherwise have opposed.
RELATED: UN says ‘closely following’ amendments to Iraq’s Personal Status Law
Yahya al-Kubaisi, a prominent Iraqi political researcher and academic, shared a formal judicial ruling issued by the Iraqi Federal Court of Cassation on November 17, 2024 that shows the court applying the Iraqi Personal Status Law, which allows for the recognition of girls as young as nine as “biologically mature.” The top court legally interpreted this as indicating they can also be considered “mentally mature,” thereby bypassing the 18-year age requirement set by the Iraqi Civil Code.
Slamming the move as “a legal scandal for the Court of Cassation,” Kubaisi wrote that the top court “comes today to decide that nine years is not just the age of puberty, but can also be the age of legal discretion for a female,” which “relates to cognitive maturity and the legal responsibility to make sound decisions.”
The Iraqi academic argued that “one can be pubescent without being mature,” asking, “How can we fix a judiciary that has lost its way?” and affirming that the move contradicts Article 106 of the Iraqi Civil Code which stipulates that “the age of discretion for both men and women is 18 years.”
The Iraqi Federal Court of Cassation - the highest judicial body in Iraq’s ordinary judiciary, responsible for civil, criminal, and personal status cases - based its interpretation on the Iraqi Personal Status Law. The Iraqi parliament in January 2025 passed amendments to the law allowing Iraqis to choose between civil law and religious codes in family matters. The move then prompted concerns about creating two parallel legal systems within one country and undermining the principle of equality before the law.
However, the greatest controversy regarding the law centered on the potential lowering of the marriage age.
While the final text of the amendment kept the legal marriage age at 18 - or 15 with a judge’s permission - it granted religious authorities the power to draft their own “codes of jurisprudence” - specifically the Jaafari Code for Shiite Muslims. This sparked fears that marriages involving girls as young as nine could be permitted under certain traditional interpretations and legalized through unregistered marriage contracts that the state is now required to recognize.
Moreover, the amendments are seen as a major rollback of protections for women. Under the Jaafari Code, a husband’s preference can take precedence in disputes over divorce or child custody, as some provisions allow for the automatic transfer of child custody to the father once a child reaches a certain age.
Of note, to ensure the of the controversial amendments to the Personal Status Law, political blocs in early 2025 bundled them into a single vote alongside two other major bills: the General Amnesty Law and the Property Restitution Law. This single basket strategy forced different political factions to support laws they might otherwise have opposed.
RELATED: UN says ‘closely following’ amendments to Iraq’s Personal Status Law