Dr. Asmaa Abdulkadhim Mahdi Agele
Lecturer at College of Law, Kerbala University, Iraq.
Sustainable development is a concept that means: “satisfying the needs of the present generation without diminishing the rights of future generations”. So the sustainable development gained great importance, and began to be reflected from the international sphere to the internal sphere of countries, and this extended to find its place in the constitutional and legal texts, and it is noted that most countries have included this idea in their constitutions and that the tendency of countries to refer to it constitutionally shows the amount of attention they give to it, which is What prompted it to be placed next to the constitutional rules, which led to the legalization of it . In the constitution of 1925, Article (94) stated: “No restriction or concession shall be given to the investment or use of one of the country’s natural resources. It is a public interest, and princely revenues are not given by commitment except in accordance with the law… ” As for the Interim Constitution of Iraq of 1970, Article (12) of it stipulates: “The state shall undertake planning, directing and leading the national economy…”, and Article (13) of it also indicated: “Natural wealth and basic means of production belong to the people and are invested by the central authority in the Republic of Iraq in accordance with to the requirements of the general planning of the national economy”, and this confirms the philosophy of these texts that the natural resources and wealth belong to all the people without distinction between one group and another, as well as obliging the state to draw up special policies in order to satisfy the needs of individuals and work to achieve the public interest . Iraq in 2005, it contained the second chapter of it ( fundamental rights and freedoms), including civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights, and despite this, it did not explicitly stipulate sustainable development, leaving that to deduction and deduction from its texts that are in great harmony with the spirit and concept of Sustainable development, through its emphasis on the various rights that enshrine social and economic justice, as well as interest in what is known as good governance, which represents an important tool for achieving this idea, and among the articles that are largely consistent with the idea of sustainable development, to which we refer to Article (16), which indicated : “Equal opportunities are a guaranteed right for all Iraqis, and the state guarantees taking the necessary measures to achieve this,” and Article (25) which emphasizes: “The state guarantees reform of the economic system on the basis of modern economic foundations , in a way that guarantees full investment of its resources and encourages and develops the private sector.” The environmental aspect was also concerned. A share in this constitution, as Article (33) stipulates: “First: Everyone has the right to live in healthy environmental conditions. Second: The state guarantees the protection of the environment and biodiversity and the preservation of The Federal Government shall manage the oil and gas extracted from the current fields with the governments of the producing regions and governorates, provided that it distributes its revenues in a fair manner commensurate with the population distribution throughout the country ….”.
As for ordinary legislation, in the economic ones, it is noted what was stipulated in the Federal Financial Management Law, in Article (4): “The federal budget is prepared on the basis of economic development estimates and the pursuit of macroeconomic stability for sustainable development, economic policies, conformity with the government program, and the challenges facing The national economy, and the expected risks…” , The Central Bank Law also referred, in Article (3) to: “The main objectives of the Central Bank of Iraq include achieving stability in local prices and working to maintain a stable financial system based on competition in the market And the Central Bank of Iraq works, in line with the aforementioned goals, to promote sustainable development, provide job opportunities and achieve prosperity in Iraq”, as for social legislation, sustainable development finds its legal basis in health and labor laws, trade unions, and other related laws; Through the text on the social dimensions of sustainable development.
As for the 2005 constitution in force specifically, it did not stipulate the concept of sustainable development explicitly. Similar to comparative constitutions, this matter may be attributed to the lack of crystallization of this idea among those in charge of drafting the constitution, or Haste, or giving political aspects greater importance in the constitution, or that the committees that took upon themselves the task of drafting constitutional texts were not comprehensive and diverse. in despite of that, it included within it texts that are in line with the spirit and idea of sustainable development, albeit in a manner It is not explicit, which is evident from the text of Article (112) Paragraph (First), which came in a manner consistent with the idea of sustainable development, as it included that the central government manage oil and gas wealth and work to distribute its imports in a fair manner throughout the country in a manner that secures the achievement of development Balanced and fair for all without discrimination. It was not satisfied with that, but rather stressed the need to draw up a strategic and effective policy in order to develop this wealth, of regulating the consumption of resources and wealth and working on their development and investment, which allows obtaining a greater and more continuous benefit, with an emphasis on That the processes of resource extraction and policy-making be joint with the federal government, to ensure that one party does not monopolize at the expense of another. we can noted from what was mentioned through the statement of the above constitutions that it is clear that most of the constitutions have stipulated equality and equal opportunities for all citizens and the guarantee of economic and social development, and these are implicit signs that the constitutions include within them texts commensurate with the idea of sustainable development, started from the 1925 constitution and up to the 2005 constitution. By extrapolating the constitutional texts of the constitutions of Iraq, it turns out that they referred to it implicitly and in varying proportions between them.
