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Iraq parliament delays final vote on troop withdrawal agreement for non-US forces

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

[JURIST] The Iraqi Council of Representatives on Monday delayed a vote to determine the future of non-US foreign troops in the country. On Saturday, the parliament rejected a draft law that would have permitted 6,000 troops from the United Kingdom, Australia, Romania, El Salvador, and Estonia to remain in the country after the current UN mandate authorizing the multi-national force in Iraq expires on December 31, 2008. The Iraqi parliament was reported to have reached a compromise Sunday, transforming the failed draft law into a parliamentary resolution that would require the approval of only a simple majority, but the process stalled on Monday due to rising tensions between members of parliament and speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, who suspended the legislative session after a number of deputies called for his resignation. Last week, Al-Mashhadani called some parliamentarians "sons of dogs" during a debate over the fate of Iraqi shoe-throwing journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi. It is not clear when the parliament will meet again, but failure to approve a troop extension agreement before December 31 would leave the legal status of non-US troops uncertain. Earlier this month, the Iraqi presidential council approved a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that sets a 2011 deadline for the withdrawal of US troops but also approved an additional law calling for a national referendum on the pact in July 2009. The approval of the council, comprising President Jalal Talabani and two vice presidents, was the final step required before the SOFA can go into effect on January 1, 2009, a day after the current UN Mandate authorizing the US presence in Iraq expires. The SOFA was approved by the Iraq cabinet and the Iraq parliament in November. In addition to the official deadlines for troop withdrawal, 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 December 22, 2008 (boomark / email).