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Iraq parliament passes US Status of Forces Agreement with referendum rider

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST]The Iraqi parliament on Thursday approved a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that sets a 2011 deadline for the withdraw of US troops but also passed an additional law calling for a national referendum on the pact in July 2009. The vote on the SOFA had been delayed several times while majority Shia and minority Sunni factions negotiated over the Sunni-favored referendum and other provisions. The SOFA itself will take effect on January 1st, 2009, a day after the current UN mandate authorizing the US presence in Iraq expires. The International Herald Tribune has more. Aswat al-Iraq has local coverage (in English and Arabic). The SOFA was approved by the Iraq cabinet on November, 16 2008. In addition to the official deadlines for troop withdraw, it gives Iraqi courts limited jurisdiction over American military personnel and eliminates immunity for US defense contractors working within Iraq.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on November 27, 2008 (boomark / email).