Kurdistan Judicial Council
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- Abduljabar Aziz Hassan, Head of the KJC
| Kurdish: ئەنجوومەنی دادوەریی کوردستان Encûmena Dadwerîy Kurdistan | |
 | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1992 |
| Jurisdiction | Kurdistan Region |
| Headquarters | Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq |
| Agency executive |
|
The Kurdistan Judicial Council (KJC) (Kurdish: ئەنجوومەنی دادوەریی کوردستان, romanized: Encûmena Dadwerîy Kurdistan) is the highest judicial authority and court of cassation[1] in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).[2] It has lower-level appellate courts throughout the KRI, including in Duhok, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Kirkuk, as well as the Garmiyan Administration.[3]
The KJC was established in 1992 under Judicial Authority Law No. 14 passed by the Kurdistan Parliament, when the Kurdistan Region achieved de facto autonomy.[2]
During the Kurdish Civil War, the KJC functioned as the court for both the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) areas until 1998, when the PUK established its own Supreme Court in Sulaymaniyah. However, the judiciary was reunified in 2006.[4]
In 2009, the Kurdistan Parliament enacted Law No. 7 on Judicial Institutions, re-establishing the KJC and assigning it responsibility for selecting judges and prosecutors in the KRI. Since then, the judicial institution has operated with three levels of appeal. As of 2021, 148 judges and prosecutors had graduated from the institution, and 195 judges currently serve in the region's courts.[4]