The effectiveness of environmental laws and their impact on changing environmental situation of current and future of Iraq

Document Type : High quality original papers

Authors

Marine Science Centre, University of Basrah, Iraq.

Abstract

Environment in Iraq similar to every aspects of life has been exposed to neglect at both the legislative and executive levels. Ever since the time of the modern Iraqi state legislation; at the beginning of 1920s, it is noticed that the State has not directed its attention and care to the environment. Although the Iraqi Punitive Code (IPC) (111 of 1969) addressed in some of its articles what referred to as “environmental crimes”. However, it does not appreciate the development in the political and legislative system of Iraq as well as the development in the environmental sciences. The modern guidelines and Regulations identified and dealt with the precautionary measures and actions directed against the environment under the administrative system of discipline and not under the criminal Iraqi Punitive Code (IPC). What Iraq needs now is a link between these instructions, the environment and the IPC in force. After the change of the previous regime in 2003, instructions and regulations issued to address the immediate environmental problems but did not put an end to all violations and the repercussions on the environment continued for decades up to the recent time. This paper discusses the environmental legislation in force (No. 27 of 2009) that falls short of the level of law, which is considered as regulations to guide state institutions to take measures such as imposing a fine or close premises or eliminate the effects of a factory on the environment. However, the indicator of non-implementation of even such precautionary measures is the lack of a stringent law or judicial authority to apply this law. The research also addresses the reasons to draft a new environmental law resulting from the new understanding of the nature of the environmental problems, and not the development of legal systems in force and suggest that the criminal law with an executive underwriter for its application. Since any law will not be effective unless it is combined with rapid, good monitoring and deterrent processes. Particularly in such enormity of environmental problems and poor community environmental awareness which require rapid and efficient actions.

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