Legal expert Ali Al-Tamimi has explained why Iraq cannot currently pay government employees’ salaries in US dollars instead of Iraqi dinars without changing existing laws.
Al-Tamimi told dinaropinions.com that current Iraqi legislation requires public-sector salaries to be paid in dinars. He said switching to dollars would violate existing laws and require changes approved by Parliament.
He pointed to Public Sector Employees Salaries Law No. 22 of 2008. Article 1 defines salary, while Article 3 and the attached salary schedule specify salaries in Iraqi dinars. According to Al-Tamimi, paying employees in another currency would effectively change the legally established salary schedule, which requires a legal amendment.
He also referred to Civil Service Law No. 24 of 1960, which addresses salaries and allowances on the assumption that they are paid in the national currency.
Al-Tamimi said the Central Bank of Iraq Law No. 56 of 2004 also supports this position. Article 32 identifies the Iraqi dinar as the national currency and the only legal tender with unlimited legal payment status within the country.
Article 33 further states that people cannot be forced to accept a currency other than the dinar when settling debts inside Iraq.
Because government salaries are payments owed by the state to its employees, Al-Tamimi argued that they must be paid in the legally recognized currency.
He explained that exceptions exist for certain payments made outside Iraq. Ministry of Foreign Affairs employees working abroad, including embassy and diplomatic mission staff, may receive salaries and allowances in foreign currency under applicable rules. Scholarship students and certain employees sent abroad may also receive payments in dollars.
According to Al-Tamimi, these exceptions apply because the payments are made outside Iraq’s monetary jurisdiction.
He concluded that paying government salaries in US dollars within Iraq is not legally permitted under the current framework. Any move toward dollar-denominated salaries would require amendments to the relevant legislation.
