Iraqi top court revokes granting diplomatic passports to high-ranking officials

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned an amendment to the country’s passport law that granted diplomatic passports to high-ranking officials and their families, citing constitutional grounds.

The amendment, approved by the parliament in January, gave diplomatic passports to high-ranking officials and their families, which were previously granted through instructions from the foreign ministry.

Separate complaints were later filed by the foreign and interior ministries, requesting the amendment to be nullified. The top court on Wednesday said that the parliament’s January amendment was “unconstitutional.”

The complaints were filed on the basis that the amendment violates several articles of the Iraqi constitution.

“Those who received diplomatic passports during this period, according to the amendment, will not have them revoked, but they will not be permanent and will have a specified duration,” Sagvan Sindi, deputy head of the parliament’s security and defense committee, told Rudaw, adding that the documents will expire in 2029.

The Iraqi president and his deputies, the prime minister and his deputies, senior advisors, and a select number of public employees are among those eligible for the diplomatic passport.

Before the amendment, diplomatic passports were granted based on a government decree.