The Legal Procedural Guarantees of The Iraqi Public Employment in Disciplinary Cases

This article focuses on examining the procedural guarantees accorded to Iraqi civil servants in disciplinary cases, as enshrined in Law No. (14) of 1991, as amended hereinafter referred to as “LDSPSE-1991”, along with the Iraqi Constitution of 2005, hereinafter referred to as “IC 2005”. The main purpose of the research is to determine whether the Iraqi laws provide enough procedural safeguards to protect public employees against unfair and arbitrary administrative conduct. Using a doctrinal research approach, this paper will use primary sources including laws, constitution and case-law, as well as secondary sources in the form of books, scholarly journal articles and other law reports. The result shows that, while Iraq's laws contain some very crucial safeguards, including written investigations, creation of an investigative committee and defence, such guarantees are not fully adhered to in practical sense. Some major shortcomings involve notifications, access to investigation papers, confrontations, examining witnesses, having legal representation, being neutral for the committees and recusals. The study thus suggests the necessity of legislative changes to make procedural guarantees more concrete and applicable.