Iraq’s top court delays ruling on revoked Khor Abdullah maritime pact with Kuwait

Iraq's Federal Supreme Court has again postponed a ruling on whether to reinstate a contentious maritime agreement with Kuwait, intensifying legal and political tensions surrounding the Khor Abdullah waterway - a strategic corridor for Iraqi sea trade - which could see the country lose valuable oil reserves.

The court announced on Wednesday that it would delay its review of an appeal against a September 2023 decision that nullified the 2013 law ratifying Iraq’s maritime border accord with Kuwait.

Chief Justice Jassim Mohammed Aboud Al-Amiri told the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) that proceedings would resume in mid-June.

It marks the second such postponement in a month. On 22 April, the court deferred hearings on appeals submitted by President Abdul Latif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, pushing the session to 30 April without offering a rationale.

The original ruling declared Law 42 of 2013 unconstitutional on the grounds that it had not secured the two-thirds parliamentary majority required for ratifying international treaties. The verdict has strained diplomatic relations with Kuwait and reignited domestic controversy over Iraqi sovereignty and constitutional authority.

While Supreme Court rulings in Iraq are generally final, Article 45 of the court’s internal statute permits case reconsideration if constitutional or public interest concerns are raised, so long as judicial stability is preserved. The clause may be the only viable path to revisiting the ruling.

Political Stakes and Public Protests

The maritime pact traces its origins to a 1993 United Nations Security Council resolution that demarcated Iraq’s borders following its 1990 invasion of Kuwait when a US-led coalition roundly defeated Saddam Hussein's forces.

The agreement, signed in 2012 and ratified by Iraq’s parliament a year later, divided control of the 120-kilometre channel between Kuwait’s Warbah and Bubiyan islands and Iraq’s Al-Faw Peninsula. The channel feeds into Khor al-Zubair, home to the critical Iraqi port of Umm Qasr in Basra province.

Former border demarcation official Jamal al-Halbousi, during a recent interview with TNA, warned that reversing the court’s ruling could result in Iraq losing "significant oilfields such as Jamal Twaina 1 and 2, vast maritime zones, and critical customs revenues". He added that only parliament could constitutionally ratify the treaty with a two-thirds majority.

Iraqi political observers say the rift over Khor Abdullah is emerging as a key test for Prime Minister Sudani’s re-election prospects and those of other Iran-aligned Shia factions ahead of national elections scheduled for October. With growing popular and political opposition to reviving the revoked maritime pact with Kuwait, any move to reinstate it could carry significant electoral costs.

Tensions have spilled onto the streets. On Saturday, dozens of demonstrators, including MPs and activists, gathered in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square to voice support for the court’s annulment of the deal. Protesters denounced the agreement as "humiliating" and called for the ruling to be registered with the United Nations, urging the government to refrain from conceding any part of Khor Abdullah to Kuwait.

Parliament's Response 

Strains between Iraq’s legislative and executive branches are also growing. Parliament is scheduled to hold a second reading on 5 May for Iraq’s accession to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), an international treaty regulating maritime conduct. The parliament focuses on implementing Article 11 of UNCLOS, which stipulates that, to determine territorial seas, only permanent harbour works are considered part of the coastline. Offshore installations and artificial islands do not qualify.

Several Iraqi lawmakers have accused Kuwait of constructing artificial islands in the Khor Abdullah channel in a bid to expand its maritime claims and control navigation near the vital port.

In a formal response filed on 14 April, the legal office of Iraq's Parliament rejected the renewed attempt to reinstate the Khor Abdullah agreement, arguing that the appeal lacked standing and legal basis. According to the document, seen by TNA, the legal representative of the Speaker of Parliament urged the Federal Supreme Court to dismiss the case outright, stating: "The added official capacity does not confer the legal right to contest the original ruling."

The response also accused the executive branch of misinterpreting Article 45 of the court's internal statute, which allows for reconsideration only under strict public interest criteria. The letter concluded by urging the court to reject the appeal and require the appellants to bear all associated legal and administrative costs.

In a further development, former Transport Minister Amir Abdul Jabbar Ismael filed a criminal complaint against Prime Minister Sudani, accusing him of ordering ministries not to forward the court’s ruling to the United Nations or the International Maritime Organization — a move critics say could weaken Iraq’s legal standing in the international arena.

The court’s final decision, now expected in June, could reshape Iraq’s regional maritime boundaries, test the constitutional limits of executive power, and influence the balance of political forces ahead of a high-stakes national election. As legal uncertainty lingers, the Khor Abdullah dispute remains a flashpoint in Iraq’s ongoing struggle to assert sovereignty while managing fragile regional ties.