Judge Zaidan discusses with the US envoy the completion of “constitutional entitlements” in Iraq
The head of the Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Faiq Zaidan, discussed with US Special Envoy Tom Barrack on Friday the role of the judiciary in supporting efforts to complete the remaining constitutional requirements during the next phase.
This is the second meeting of its kind in a week; it was preceded by a meeting last Monday that addressed judicial procedures related to the file of detainees transferred from Syrian prisons to Iraq, according to official statements issued by the Council.
These talks come at a time when the political forces that won the elections in late 2025 are seeking to resolve the issue of candidates for the positions of President of the Republic and Council of Ministers, and to proceed with the procedures for forming the new government, steps which are legally known as the postponed “constitutional entitlements”.
This comes as the United States gave the Shiite Coordination Framework a deadline last Tuesday, which ends today, Friday, regarding the withdrawal of the nomination of the leader of the State of Law Coalition, Nouri al-Maliki, for the position of Prime Minister, according to what an official source in the framework told Shafaq News Agency.
He added that “Al-Maliki informed the framework that he does not intend to withdraw his nomination at all, and informed them that the (two-thirds) who nominated Al-Maliki should withdraw the nomination and he does not object to that, and this is the closest thing to the scene during the next few days.”
The “coordination framework,” which includes ruling Shiite political forces in Iraq, is witnessing a division over the nomination of Maliki for the next government, amid American warnings of the repercussions of his selection, which prompted forces within the coalition to try to persuade him to withdraw in order to preserve the unity of the framework.
The US President’s envoy, Thomas Barak, had informed the Iraqi side during his visit to Baghdad a few days earlier of the American vision regarding the formation of the Iraqi government.
The escalating American pressure on Iraq comes as a translation of President Donald Trump’s explicit threats, which included criticism of the previous course taken by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, when he assumed the premiership during two consecutive terms between 2006 and 2014.
On January 24, 2026, the Coordination Framework announced the nomination of Nouri al-Maliki, head of the State of Law Coalition, for the position of Prime Minister, with a majority vote from its constituent groups.
Shafaq.com