Top of page

Article Iraq: Legislating the Status of the Popular Mobilization Forces

(Dec. 7, 2016) On November 26, 2016, the Iraqi Parliament institutionalized the people’s fighting forces known as Al-Hashd al-Shaabi, or the Popular Mobilization (PM), by passing a special law on the matter. (Law of the Popular Mobilization Authority (2016 Law), Iraqi Parliament website (Nov. 26, 2016) (in Arabic).)

Under the new law, the PM is an independent organization with corporate personality, is a part of the Iraqi armed forces, and reports directly to the general commander of the armed forces. (Id. art 1.1.)  The PM is subject to all military laws in effect except those related to age and education requirements.  (Id. art 1.2.1.)  Members of the PM must be disengaged from all political, partisan, and social organizations, and no political activity by those members is permitted.  (Id. art 1.2.5.)  The commander of the PM will be appointed with the approval of the Parliament.  (Id. art 2.)

The 2016 law replaces an executive order on the PM issued earlier this year by the Prime Minister, Haider al-Ibadi, in his capacity as the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. (Order No. 91 (Feb. 2, 2016), IKH NEWS (July 26, 2016) (in Arabic).)

About this Item

Title

  • Iraq: Legislating the Status of the Popular Mobilization Forces

Online Format

  • web page

Rights & Access

Publications of the Library of Congress are works of the United States Government as defined in the United States Code 17 U.S.C. §105 and therefore are not subject to copyright and are free to use and reuse.  The Library of Congress has no objection to the international use and reuse of Library U.S. Government works on loc.gov. These works are also available for worldwide use and reuse under CC0 1.0 Universal. 

More about Copyright and other Restrictions.

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Credit Line: Law Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Saliba, Issam. Iraq: Legislating the Status of the Popular Mobilization Forces. 2016. Web Page. https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2016-12-07/iraq-legislating-the-status-of-the-popular-mobilization-forces/.

APA citation style:

Saliba, I. (2016) Iraq: Legislating the Status of the Popular Mobilization Forces. [Web Page] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2016-12-07/iraq-legislating-the-status-of-the-popular-mobilization-forces/.

MLA citation style:

Saliba, Issam. Iraq: Legislating the Status of the Popular Mobilization Forces. 2016. Web Page. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2016-12-07/iraq-legislating-the-status-of-the-popular-mobilization-forces/>.