Parliament holds readings of several bills, votes on appointments to standing committees

Kurdistan Parliament Speaker Dr. Rewaz Faiq on 17th May 2023 presided over a sitting for readings of several bills and for voting on new appointments to the standing committees.

The Legislative Committee held the first reading of the Bill on Implementation of the Law on Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, Iraqi Federal Law No. (39) of 2015.

Parliament then held the second reading of the Legislative Proposal on the Second Amendment to Law No. 3 of 2019, the Law on Ownership of on Ownership of Illegally Taken or Used Land in Kurdistan Region’s Municipalities. The aim of the amendment is to extend the deadline by which the public can legalize their ownership of land on which they have built their homes. MPs made many comments and suggestions on the bill, such as how much to extend the deadline for applications and the level of fees that the public should be charged for legalizing the land ownership.

MPs also held the second reading of the Draft Resolution on the Burial of Martyrs, which aims to define who can receive a burial ceremony as a martyr of the nation and can be buried in cemetery areas specially designated for martyrs. Many comments and suggestions were made on each article of the draft resolution.

Both of the legislative proposals will be prepared for voting and passage at future sittings.

As the order of the items on the sitting agenda was changed by Speaker Faiq, the vote on the requests to resign their membership by seven Kurdistan Justice Group MPs was postponed to a sitting the following week.

MPs voted in favour of the resignations and appointments of the following members to Parliament’s standing committees:

Resignation of Mr. Balen Ismaeel Haji (Change) from the Integrity Committee.

Appointments: Mr. Balen Ismaeel Haji (Change) to the Committee on Energy, Natural Resources, Commerce and Industry.

Mr. Dler Abdulkhaleq Haji (Change) to the Integrity Committee.

Ms. Soz Abdulqadir Abdulrahman (Change) to the Committee on Health, Environment and Consumer Rights.

Mr. Abdulla Hasan Hamad (IMK) to the Committee on Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research.

Mr. Abdullah Hasan Hamad (IMK) to the Committee on Municipalities, Communication, Transport and Tourism.

Ms. Layla Ali Abdulaziz (IMK) to the Committee on Endowments and Religious Affairs.

Ms. Layla Ali Abdulaziz (IMK) to the Committee on Protection of Women's Rights.

Ms. Beriwan Faqe Esmael Basu (Independent) to the Peshmerga Affairs Committee.

Ms. Beriwan Faqe Esmael Basu (Independent) to the Committee Agriculture and Irrigation.

Speaker Faiq ended the sitting by saying that Parliament would convene again the following week.