Legal expert and consultant Salem Hawas said that Iraq’s law criminalizing normalization with the Zionist entity — Law No. 1 of 2022 — is still fully in force. The law was published in the Iraqi Gazette No. 4680 and applies to every Iraqi, whether a private individual or a legal entity.
Hawas explained that the law is not applied based on nationality alone. What really matters is the nature of the action and the legal role of the person who did it. In other words, the law looks at what was done and in what capacity it was done, not just who did it. This makes it very important to separate national actions from international ones.
Speaking to dinaropinions.com, Hawas said that if an Iraqi were to hold a high-ranking position at the United Nations, that person would fall under UN rules and agreements. Most importantly, the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations gives senior UN officials functional immunity for actions taken as part of their official duties.
Because of this, any meetings, visits, or communications carried out in the name of the UN and within its official mission are not considered personal or national normalization. From a legal point of view, these actions are international, not Iraqi, and they are not subject to Iraq’s criminal laws.
Hawas added that Iraqi law does not apply to actions that are international in nature, as long as those actions are not done in the name of Iraq, do not represent Iraqi state policy, and are not carried out in a personal capacity.
However, he made one thing very clear: if an action falls outside official international duties, or if it is done personally or on behalf of Iraq, then legal responsibility under Iraqi law still applies.
He concluded by saying that confusing international representation with national representation is legally wrong. It has no solid basis in Iraqi constitutional law or in international law.
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