KRG appeals federal budget law at top court: MP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has appealed articles of the federal budget law that pertain to its share due to their “unconstitutionality,” a Kurdish lawmaker in Baghdad said on Saturday.
“I believe that all points [of the law] which are related to the Kurdistan Region are interesting and have been drafted unlawfully and unconstitutionally. They are against the interests of the Region,” Khalil Doski from the Region’s ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), told Rudaw’s Halkawt Aziz on Saturday.
“The [Kurdistan] Regional Government has appealed points in the law pertaining to the Kurdistan Region,” added the member of the Iraqi parliament’s finance committee, noting that the appeal is of articles 11, 12, and 13 which detail the Region’s share and the management of its oil.
“The appeal has been submitted to the federal court,” he said, referring to the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court which has the authority to revoke the mentioned articles and request amendments if it deems them unconstitutional.
Iraq passed its highly-contentious federal budget in June after months of discussions. The budget law obliges the KRG to sell 400,000 barrels of crude oil through Iraq’s national oil marketing body and if the suspension of exports continues, Iraq will take Kurdish oil for its internal use.
Turkey stopped the flow of Kurdish oil through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline after a Paris arbitration court on March 23 ruled in favor of Baghdad, saying Ankara had breached a 1973 pipeline agreement when it allowed the Kurdistan Region to begin independent oil exports in 2014.
The Region’s oil exports have yet to resume and the federal budget is expected to be implemented later this month. The KRG, which heavily relies on oil revenues, now is reliant on local income and money sent by Baghdad as debt to pay its civil servants.
Doski did not reveal the details of the appeal but said the case would not affect the flow of the federal money to Erbil.
The KRG has yet to confirm the application of the appeal.
“I believe that all points [of the law] which are related to the Kurdistan Region are interesting and have been drafted unlawfully and unconstitutionally. They are against the interests of the Region,” Khalil Doski from the Region’s ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), told Rudaw’s Halkawt Aziz on Saturday.
“The [Kurdistan] Regional Government has appealed points in the law pertaining to the Kurdistan Region,” added the member of the Iraqi parliament’s finance committee, noting that the appeal is of articles 11, 12, and 13 which detail the Region’s share and the management of its oil.
“The appeal has been submitted to the federal court,” he said, referring to the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court which has the authority to revoke the mentioned articles and request amendments if it deems them unconstitutional.
Iraq passed its highly-contentious federal budget in June after months of discussions. The budget law obliges the KRG to sell 400,000 barrels of crude oil through Iraq’s national oil marketing body and if the suspension of exports continues, Iraq will take Kurdish oil for its internal use.
Turkey stopped the flow of Kurdish oil through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline after a Paris arbitration court on March 23 ruled in favor of Baghdad, saying Ankara had breached a 1973 pipeline agreement when it allowed the Kurdistan Region to begin independent oil exports in 2014.
The Region’s oil exports have yet to resume and the federal budget is expected to be implemented later this month. The KRG, which heavily relies on oil revenues, now is reliant on local income and money sent by Baghdad as debt to pay its civil servants.
Doski did not reveal the details of the appeal but said the case would not affect the flow of the federal money to Erbil.
The KRG has yet to confirm the application of the appeal.