The Federal Supreme Court of Iraq [official website] ruled [press release, in Arabic] Monday against Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s proposal to eliminate the mainly ceremonial roles of Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister. The court reasoned that these roles are constitutionally required [Iraq constitution, PDF] and their elimination can only be passed through an absolute majority in parliament and then ratified by a national referendum. The Prime Minister had proposed the role eliminations last year with the approval of his cabinet.

Iraq has faced significant challenges in recent years with both providing basic infrastructure and fighting militant groups. Last November the Iraqi parliament voted to prevent al-Abadi from passing important reforms without the parliament’s approval [JURIST report]. In August of last year the Iraqi Parliament unanimously approved [JURIST report] al-Abadi’s reform plan [statement] to cut spending and eliminate many top political positions. The reform plan seeks to restart a corruption investigation program. Iraq’s cabinet approved the proposal [JURIST report] earlier that week, though it faced some criticism. In 2013 the Iraq parliament passed a law [Reuters report] restricting the prime minister, parliament speaker and president to two four-year terms.