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Iraq Country Profile |
Official Name: Republic of Iraq
Capital: Baghdad
Area: 438,320 square kilometres (169,236 square miles)
Major cities (Population)
Baghdad 4,478,000 (1995)
Basra 872,176 (1987)
Mosul 748,000 (1991)
Type of government: Republic
Independence: 3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
Constitution: 22 September 1968, effective 16 July 1970 (interim constitution); new constitution drafted in 1990 but not adopted.
Voting Rights: Universal at age 18
Iraq is divided into 18 provinces, of which 3 are designated as Kurdish autonomous regions. Each province is headed by a centrally appointed governor. Towns and cities are run by municipal councils headed by mayors. The 231 towns are divided into five classes: superior, first, second, third, and fourth. Baghdad enjoys special status as the national capital and is administered by an authority known as "Governorate of the Capital."
The principal executive organization of Iraq is the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), which is led by a chairman, and which selects a president. In practice, political power is centralized in a single leader, Saddam Hussein, who serves as the nation’s president, as its prime minister, and as chairman of the RCC. A council of ministers is the country’s main administrative body.
A national assembly, called the Majlis al-Watani, was established in 1980. It is made up of 250 members popularly elected to four-year terms. The RCC also has legislative functions.
The judicial system of Iraq allows for the separate treatment of civil and religious matters. Civil matters are handled in courts presided over by individual judges. Above these courts are five courts of appeal, located in the major cities. The highest judicial bench in Iraq is called the Court of Cassation, which sits in Baghdad. It is composed of the president; a number of vice presidents; and not fewer than 15 permanent judges, delegated judges, and reporters and experts, as required. Religious matters are usually handled by Islamic, or Sharia, courts.
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