Iraq's top court dismisses a lawsuit against former parliament speaker for holding a "secret session"

Shafaq News/ Iraq's Supreme Federal Court has dismissed a complaint filed against the former speaker of the parliament, Mohammad al-Halboosi, and his legal aides for holding a "secret session".

Lawmaker Nisan al-Zayer, the plaintiff, accused the ousted parliament speaker of failing to notify the council members about a session called in to vote on the local election law.

"The session was called in the early morning of March 20, 2023 without informing the lawmakers two days a priori," the plaintiff claimed. "Moreover, the session was convened without setting the date of the next session, which makes it a secret session in contrast to the provisions of Article 53/first of Iraq's 2005 Constitution."

The document released by the Iraqi judiciary said that the court lacks jurisdiction over such lawsuits for its powers are "exclusively determined by Articles 52 and 93 of the 2005 Constitution of Iraq and Article 4 of the Supreme Federal Court's law no. 30 of 2005, which was amended by law no. 25 of 2021..."