The legal system for public holidays in Iraq

Abstract

      The Iraqi legislator has guaranteed to all citizens the right to rest by stopping work for a period of time estimated at one or several days each week or each year, for the purpose of their participation in religious, national and international events, provided that this is done in accordance with a legal system that regulates these holidays and determines their dates.  This is what the Constitution of the Republic of Iraq of 2005 referred to in Article (12/Second) of it, which stipulated (regulated by law, ..... official holidays...), and although this law referred to in the article was not issued, it  At the present time, reference is made to the Official Holidays Law No. (12) of 2024 in force, which came to us after several amendments occurred to it with a list of official holidays containing Friday and Saturday of each week, and (17) days of each year, and it has been  Determine them according to their Gregorian dates with regard to national and international occasions, and according to their Hijri dates with regard to religious occasions and sorrows.                                       

      Determining official holidays is one of the tasks of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, as a specific day cannot be considered an official holiday except in accordance with what the Council of Representatives decides by issuing a law to that effect or making an amendment to the law in force since it is the legislative body responsible for that. As for the Iraqi Council of Ministers, it is responsible for announcing  Official holidays, as it is the executive body responsible for implementing federal laws, this is in principle, except that the Iraqi Council of Ministers may, as an exception, announce official holidays for national or important occasions, provided that they do not exceed seven days, and it may cancel them based on the text of Article (3) of the Holidays Law.  As for the provinces’ jurisdiction to declare official holidays, it is considered to have lost its legal support, due to the absence of an article allowing them to exercise this jurisdiction. As a result of non-compliance with the stated legal texts related to declaring official holidays in Iraq, there has been a significant increase in the number of days for these holidays, which  It affects the work of state departments, schools, universities, institutes and the judiciary, thus obstructing the interests of citizens