ASSESSING THE LEGAL CONSEQUENCES OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF IRAQI AND INTERNATIONAL LEGAL PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

This study conducts a detailed comparative legal analysis of the Iraqi environmental legislation and its relationship with international environmental law and attempts to analyze the legal consequences of environmental pollution and propose reform opportunities. The multidisciplinary strategy of intermixing doctrinal legal analysis, comparative analysis with colleagues in the Middle East and international conventions, case study analysis, stakeholder interviews, and integration of environment information, the study uncovers vast gaps in legislation and enforcement in the field of environmental regulation in Iraq. The key results indicate that although Iraq has official undertakings to significant international accords and has a legal framework (especially the Environmental Protection and Improvement Law No. 27 of 2009) at the national level, its implementation is poor due to institutional disintegration, political interference, low levels of citizen engagement, and lack of technical capacity. Comparative analysis focuses on specialized institutions, civic engagement and the polluter-pays principle compared to the stakeholder approaches which concentrate on the systemic problems like legal illiteracy and starved agencies. Environmental degradation is also placed by the research as a human rights concern which requires legal modernization and governmental reform as governed by environmental justice, compliance and transnational law. The infusion value of this study is that it unites the legal theory, empirical facts, and stakeholder perceptions to offer the first unified legal-environmental analysis of the Iraq pollution crisis, which produces practical reforms between the legal gaps domestically and the international environmental obligations.