Supreme judicial council of Iraq reactivates article 140 of the constitution regarding disputed territories
A Kurd reads a writing an a wall says “ISIS implemented article 140” which indicates the return of Kurdish Peshmargas to disputed territories in 2014
The Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq has requested the reactivation of article 140 of the constitution which calls for normalization of the situation in territories disputed by the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan regional government.
According to officials of the committee overseeing the implementation of the article, the council informed the Kirkuk Court of Appeal about its decision earlier this week, which they believe will prevent the return of Arab families brought from southern Iraq and were resettled in Kirkuk during the rule of the former Ba’ath regime in the 1970s.
The families returned to their areas of origin after receiving compensations according to article 140, but there were attempts to bring them back in the last three months.
According to the judicial council’s decision Arab settlers no longer can file complaints against Kurdish farmers concerning ownership claims of agricultural lands
Barzan Sheikh Ghazi, head of the committee overseeing the implementation of article 140 in Daquq told (KirkukNow), “According to the Supreme Judicial Council’s decision Arab settlers no longer can file complaints against Kurdish farmers concerning ownership claims of agricultural lands.”
Meanwhile, Kakarash Sidiq head of the committee in Kirkuk province, regarding the council’s new decision said, “the decision will be of great benefit for Kurdish farmers in Kirkuk province as the courts will no longer consider the complaints of the Arab settlers and they were not b able to renew their leases because the article does not allow this.”
According to Kurdish officials, hundreds of hectares of agricultural land were confiscated from Kurdish farmers and were given to Arab families whom the former regime brought from other Iraqi provinces in the form of leases.
The Supreme Judicial Council’s decision was issued after Kurdish farmers protested decisions by the acting governor of Kirkuk in the last three months aimed to facilitate the return of Arab settlers to Kirkuk villages.
Source: Kirkuknow.com