If Baghdad cancels the “Khor Abdullah” agreement it made with Kuwait, Kuwait will request approximately 6 billion US dollars from Iraq to repay its debt. According to Al-Marsoumi’s post on Facebook, some Kuwaiti representatives have demanded repayment of the loans and interest owed by Iraq, which have not yet been paid, following the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq’s ruling that the law ratifying the maritime navigation agreement in Khor Abdullah with Kuwait was unconstitutional.
He stated that the original Kuwaiti debt owed to Iraq amounted to approximately 6 billion dollars, according to the submitted documents. However, the remaining claims cannot be classified as debt since they comprise various components, including:
1- Exporting oil for the benefit of Iraq in the neutral zone between the two countries, as Saudi Arabia agreed with Kuwait to produce the equivalent of 1.3 million barrels of oil per day and market it for the benefit of Iraq.
2- Paying Iraq’s debts to others or Iraq’s guarantee towards them.
3- Providing Iraq with civilian means that serve the war effort, including vehicles, transporters, iron for military purposes, and barbed wire. These were specifically considered donations and support for the war effort.
4- Providing facilities at Kuwaiti ports and exemptions from transit and customs clearance fees. Therefore, the Iraqis do not see all of this as loans because there is no proof of that, as it is likely to be donations or aid, especially since the political motive was behind this aid. All of this brought Kuwait’s debts, including interest, to $22 billion, as estimated by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Al-Marsoumi continued by saying, “Although Kuwait confirms that it possesses official documents showing the transfer of these funds to Iraq, but from a legal point of view, the reality of the transfer that has been achieved is not sufficient to prove that Iraq will bear any claim to repay any amount unless the terms of the transfer are specific and binding.” .
He pointed out that if Kuwait insists on its rigid positions and legal interpretations regarding its refusal to apply the principle of “repugnant” debt, then Iraq should not hesitate to defend the fact that these transfers do not constitute loans without a written contract proving them.
The expert concluded his post by saying that the principle of “hateful” debt, which says that debt that is not used for the benefit of the people, but rather to support the corruption and oppression of dictatorship, is a debt that lacks legal legitimacy, stressing that the ideal solution to Kuwait’s debts is the necessity of a major national effort to call for the establishment of… An arbitration court looks into “hateful” debts, and it has the right to decide which of these debts are hateful debts and which are legitimate legal debts, and thus the first, which constitutes the majority, will be dropped.
Yesterday, Monday, the Federal Supreme Court (the highest judicial authority in Iraq) ruled that the law ratifying the maritime navigation agreement in Khor Abdullah with Kuwait was unconstitutional.
The Federal Supreme Court media said, in a statement, that the court decided in its session held today (yesterday), in the case numbered (105 and consolidated 194/Federal/2023), to rule that the law ratifying the agreement between the government of the Republic of Iraq and the government of the State of Kuwait regarding the regulation of maritime navigation in Khor Abdullah No. (42) of 2013.
He added, “The court issued its decision in violation of the provisions of Article (61/Fourth) of the Constitution of the Republic of Iraq, which stipulates, ‘The process of ratifying international treaties and agreements is regulated by a law enacted by a two-thirds majority of the members of the House of Representatives.'”
For his part, Representative Saud Al-Saadi announced, in a video clip that we publish below, that he won the lawsuit to invalidate the Khor Abdullah Agreement before the Federal Court, describing it as “good news for the Iraqis.”
