Translated Text of Iraq's 'Interim Basic Law'

Also known as Iraq's transitional Constitution (from Iraq Today, English language newspaper in Iraq)

Here is Article 4:

The system of government in Iraq shall be republican, federal, democratic, and pluralistic, and powers shall be shared between the federal government and the regional governments, governorates, municipalities, and local administrations. The federal system shall be based upon geographic and historical realities and the separation of powers, and not upon origin, race, ethnicity, nationality, or confession.

It will be interesting to see if this 'federal system' will be able to hold together, or if Iraq will be partitioned into Sunni, Shia, and Kurdish regions.

Here is Article 7:

A) Islam is the official religion of the State and is to be considered a source of legislation. No law that contradicts the universally agreed tenets of Islam, the principles of democracy, or the rights cited in Chapter Two of this Law may be enacted during the transitional period. This Law respects the Islamic identity of the majority of the Iraqi people and guarantees the full religious rights of all individuals to freedom of religious belief and practice.

(B) Iraq is a country of many nationalities, and the Arab people in Iraq are an inseparable part of the Arab nation.

I suppose this is politically necessary, but I am opposed to any state having an 'official religion.' This will give Iraq the constitutional grounds to restrict Christian missionary efforts while supposedly protecting "freedom of religious belief and practice" and actually protecting "the Islamic identity of the majority."

Here is Article 14:

The individual has the right to security, education, health care, and social security. The Iraqi State and its governmental units, including the federal government, the regions, governorates, municipalities, and local administrations, within the limits of their resources and with due regard to other vital needs, shall strive to provide prosperity and employment opportunities to the people.

This is similar to the former Soviet Union's constitution--it looks good on paper, but not a reflection of reality.

Here is Article 17:

It shall not be permitted to possess, bear, buy, or sell arms except on licensure issued in accordance with the law.

Uh oh. How did this one slip by the Bush Administration? Shouldn't this read A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed?

Here is Article 23:

The enumeration of the foregoing rights must not be interpreted to mean that they are the only rights enjoyed by the Iraqi people. They enjoy all the rights that befit a free people possessed of their human dignity, including the rights stipulated in international treaties and agreements, other instruments of international law that Iraq has signed and to which it has acceded, and others that are deemed binding upon it, and in the law of nations. Non-Iraqis within Iraq shall enjoy all human rights not inconsistent with their status as non-citizens.

This provision parallels the Ninth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but then extends it to include international law. (gasp!)

Plus, there are the 'nuts and bolts' details about the structure and function and timetable of the Iraqi Government in this transition.