Constitutional Amendment as a Means to Establish the Federation Council and Address Legislative Abstention - An Analytical Study-

Article 1 of the 2005 Constitution of the Republic of Iraq states that the Iraqi state is a federal state, which entails the necessity of enshrining the basic principles upon which federal states are based, including the duality of legislative authority, or what is known as the bicameral system, as a necessity to achieve balance, effective participation, and guarantee the rights of the regions. It is noteworthy that the current Iraqi constitution did not stipulate the formation and powers of the second council - or what is known as the Supreme Council - represented by the Federation Council. Rather, in Article (65), it resorted to specifying the mechanism for subsequent establishment and referred to a law enacted by the second wing, represented by the House of Representatives, specifying the method of its formation, the conditions of membership in it, and its powers. It is noted that throughout the past period and the succession of parliamentary sessions, they did not result in the birth of the anticipated law. Is this abstention a reason for liability, and thus there is a possibility of holding members of the council accountable for the reason for not enacting the law until now? Or will we enter into the realm of encroachment on the discretionary power of the legislator and the principle of separation of powers? What is the benefit of amending the Constitution of the Republic of Iraq and including constitutional articles that specify the mechanism for the formation and powers of the Federation Council and abolishing Article (65) of the current constitution, given that the constitutional legislator is the most capable of giving the Federation Council the true powers that the researcher finds to be of a degree of importance and that cannot be enacted by law by the ordinary legislator? What are the most prominent obstacles that delay the enactment of the Federation Council law? Keywords: Constitutional amendment, Federal Council, legislative abstention