The representative of the Iraqi Parliament plays a fundamental and prominent role in the legislative process as a member of Parliament, especially as he represents the Iraqi people in expressing their true will to preserve their legitimate rights, since elections are one of the most important pillars of participation in the democratic system, which is represented in the decision-making process. On the other hand, he exercises his legislative function by enacting laws that regulate the work of the state in accordance with social, political and economic conditions. Through these two attributes, the source of his importance to them is the length of the parliamentary term granted to them by law [1]. 

All people know that someone who is part of the Iraqi parliament, like the Speaker, is included in the entire group. Because of this, issues with laws that are missing must be looked at in a certain legal way [2]. This means that there could be times when poor legislation impacts things, which makes it necessary to address the gaps that hinder the function of the Council of Representatives. This is especially important to deal with the challenges that affect how well the parliament represents people according to the laws and the constitution. Occasionally, we might experience a lack of laws or a lack of political direction [3-5].

It is seen that the Federal Supreme Court in Iraq has provided us with an understanding of the significance, value and respect associated with a member of the legislative body. This is even more true for the one who leads the House of Representatives, as well as the authority they possess to act on behalf of the people under its different titles. This respected council has the capability to either move the nation forward or push it back. One can see that the Federal Supreme Court in Iraq has provided us with an understanding of the significance, value and respect associated with a member of the legislative body. This is even more true for the one who leads the House of Representatives, as well as the authority they possess to act on behalf of the people under its different titles. This respected council has the capability to either move the nation forward or push it back [6-8].

While Article 35/First/A of the rules of the Iraqi Parliament goes into more detail, it states that "if the Speaker of the Council is absent or unable to perform his duties, the First Deputy Speaker will take over those responsibilities." The role of an interim speaker occurs when the original president is completely absent, stopping it from using the powers given to it by the constitution and laws. These powers will be temporarily given, through a proper legal decision, to another leader who will take on the responsibilities of the absent president until he comes back or until a new permanent one is chosen. This highlights the significance of this study [9-11].

The Significance of the Study

It is observed that earlier legal analyses avoided the topic of "delegation" and instead concentrated on issues that seem only relevant to House of Representatives members. Nevertheless, our investigation deals with a particular concern regarding the proxy presidency of the House of Representatives. This topic is significant because it highlights the gaps in Iraqi laws regarding how the presidency of the Iraqi House of Representatives is organized when the President is not in office. This situation shows that the term "delegation" is not mentioned in the management of the Iraqi House of Representatives sessions according to the Iraqi Constitution and several other Arab constitutions and laws related to the Iraqi House of Representatives. Therefore, what will happen to the laws passed by the Iraqi parliament? If we do not resolve this issue, the Legislative Council will struggle to fulfill its legal responsibilities.

The Problem of the Study 

This investigation into the subject aims to find out how well the Iraqi lawmakers handle the issue of managing council meetings by representatives. We also want to pinpoint the legislative weaknesses that affect some of the laws created by the Iraqi lawmakers, especially since there are conflicts among these laws. This shows that some of the laws being passed are poorly drafted and do not fit the social, political and economic situations in the country.

The Objectives of the Study

The study seeks to accomplish various aims and objectives, which include:

• Making clear what managing the sessions of the Council of Representatives means when the position of the Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives is not filled

• Describing how to replace members of the Iraqi Council of Representatives to pinpoint the main problems or weaknesses affecting this process and to highlight any issues in the laws that govern it

• Investigating the status of laws passed under the term "deputation" and whether there is a constitutional provision or law that supports this term, despite the fact that the constitution and legal framework have already addressed the issue of the Speaker's position being empty

In this study, it is adopted an analytical approach by examining the constitutional and legal texts related to the Speaker of the Council of Representatives, in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Iraq of 2005, the Internal Regulations of the Iraqi Parliament No. 1 of 2022, the Law on the Council of Representatives and its Formation No. 13 of 2018 (as amended) and the Law on the Replacement of Members of the Council of Representatives No. 6 of 2006 (as amended). We analyzed and examined their contents to arrive at the true meaning of the term "deputation." 

The Structure of the study 

This study is divided into two parts. The first part will focus on the criteria for choosing the Speaker of Parliament, while the second part will look at the legal structure of the Presidency in the Iraqi Parliament.

The Analysis of the Study 

Appointment of the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament: It is common knowledge that every parliament has a speaker who stands for it and manages all functions within its legal boundaries, as stated in the Constitution. Looking at different constitutional systems, we see that there is no single method used to choose the Speaker of Parliament. The Speaker has two assistants: the first deputy and the second deputy. In numerous constitutional frameworks, the Speaker of Parliament is chosen. Yet, there have been changes, particularly since 2003. The members of the House of Representatives elect the Speaker of Parliament, along with the two Vice-Presidents and the requirements for the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament.

Even though there is a noticeable difference in legal ideas, the idea of agency means "a formal agreement where one person enables another to act on their behalf in a proper and recognized matter," and this can be found in Iraqi Civil Law. At the same time, the idea of representation means "one individual taking the place of another in carrying out a certain right or power," whereas the idea of delegation means "the temporary assignment of someone to undertake some of their responsibilities, similar to an agent. "According to the information provided, this subject will be divided into two parts. In the first part, we will talk about the requirements for choosing the Speaker of Parliament and in the second part, we will explore how the Speaker of Parliament is chosen based on the rules set by the 2005 Constitution.

Conditions for Choosing the Speaker of Parliament 

The rights guaranteed by the constitution to each and every person in the nation are well known. Regardless of whether a candidate satisfies the legal requirements, one of these rights is the ability to run for high-ranking posts in the state as a whole. The majority of the selection criteria for parliamentary candidates differ from one nation to the next. The majority of constitutions impose stringent requirements on the parliamentary speaker, especially those pertaining to age and citizenship, since these requirements include the ability to vote. As a result, we shall split this subject into two parts. The requirements for choosing the speaker of parliament in comparative constitutions will be covered in the first section and the requirements for choosing the speaker of parliament in accordance with the 2005 Iraqi Constitution will be covered in the second.

Conditions for Selecting Council Members in Some Constitutions

It is discovered that the majority of constitutions contain fundamental requirements for individuals who are elected to the House of Representatives. Since the applicant for the job is a member of the House of Representatives, these requirements may occasionally be the same, somewhat different or somewhat similar to those that apply to candidates for membership in the House. We consider the following conditions to be essential and regulating and they must be followed:

Nationality

The lawmaker from Lebanon made it clear that a candidate for office had to be a Lebanese national, not a naturalized one.

Before a candidate can be nominated for parliamentary membership, the lawmaker required that ten (10) years have elapsed since the candidate became a citizen.

It is evident from the above stated article that the lawmaker has placed stringent requirements on candidats seeking membership in Parliament. However, naturalized citizens—that is, people who have obtained Lebanese citizenship—are particularly subject to this stringency. Since it gives considerable ability to choose the Speaker of Parliament within the allotted time, we support this viewpoint.

Age 

After closely examining of the Lebanese Election Law, we have discovered that it requires candidates to be at least 25 years old in order to be eligible to serve in Parliament. Nonetheless, there is no set age limit for the Speaker of Parliament role. Any member of Parliament may be nominated for the Speakership, as is evident from the language of the aforementioned article.

While the Jordanian legislator has emphasized this issue and stipulated that anyone running for membership in the council must have completed (thirty) years of age and when we look at the Jordanian constitution, we see that it has provided an absolute text regarding the issue of determining the legal age, contrary to what was stated in the Jordanian election law, which stipulated the age (30) years for the day of voting and upon careful consideration of the election law, we did not notice the specification of a particular age for the presidency of the House of Representatives, because the text of the election law for the Jordanian House of Representatives stipulated the age (thirty years), so the text is absolute, while the Egyptian legislator has made the legal age for members of the House of Representatives no less than (twenty-five) calendar years.

The Candidate Must be Registered on the Electoral Lists

According to the researcher, the majority of the laws governing the electoral process stressed that a candidate for council membership must be listed on one of the electoral lists. This ensures that the deputy is a representative of the entire country, not the other way around, as he currently believes he is a representative of his electoral district only.

According to election statutes, candidates wishing to join the parliament must hold an academic degree, often known as a professional qualification. However, candidates are not specifically required to hold a particular degree per the Lebanese election legislation. As stated in the text below, it instead highlights the value of literacy. Additionally, a number of additional groups are prohibited from running for parliamentary membership by the Lebanese election legislation, including judges, members of the armed forces and certain employees whose jobs are considered incompatible with those of parliament. In contrast, the Egyptian legislature, in Article 102 of the Constitution, requires candidates to possess at least a basic education certificate (as indicated in the text). This constitutional provision suggests that the legislature is satisfied with the basic education certificate as a requirement for parliamentary candidacy.

Although the Iraqi lawmaker required a preparatory school certificate or its equivalent for a candidate to be considered for membership in the council, we did not observe that he imposed any requirements on the person who would take over as council president. Since the person in charge of the legislative authority and the council must possess the highest level of scientific training in order to conduct the sessions effectively, honorably and impartially, it would have been more appropriate for the Iraqi legislator to take this issue into consideration, give it the highest priority and not be lenient in any way.

Conditions for Selecting Members of the Parliament According to the Provisions of the Iraqi Constitution of 2005

Upon examining the Republic of Iraq's 2005 Constitution, the Law of the Council of Representatives and its Formations No. 13 of 2018 and the Law of Elections of the Council of Representatives and the Governorate and District Councils No. 12 of 2018 as amended, we failed to observe any particular or distinct requirements for the individual taking over as the Council's or its deputies' representative. In light of the unique status and nature of the Council, it would have been more suitable for the Iraqi legislature to impose particular requirements on them, such as requiring a higher degree and specifying the legal age. Unfortunately, we discovered that a Council member is subject to the same requirements. He established two fundamental and significant requirements, namely that he must be Iraqi and that the qualifying requirements be fulfilled.

Regarding our observation of the text, the constitutional text indicated that other conditions are to be regulated by law and the Iraqi legislator had to include all these matters in legal texts, as it included the two conditions, which are:

Citizenship

It is considered one of the basic and important conditions in the Iraqi state in general and without the condition of citizenship, it is not possible to exercise the right to run for parliamentary councils and this right is not granted to a foreigner, i.e., a right established for holders of the country’s citizenship. The text of the above article is clear, without ambiguity or confusion and it emphasized that whoever assumes membership in the council must be Iraqi and at that time the Iraqi Nationality Law was issued, which clarified for us who is Iraqi. Even though the Iraqi constitutional legislature did not pass a specific law defining or restricting sovereign positions, we can see from a review of the Constitution of the Republic of Iraq that the legislature has included a clause that forbids those who have obtained foreign citizenship from holding high-level sovereign or security positions.

From the aforementioned, it is evident that the Iraqi lawmaker did a good job of stressing this crucial requirement and outlawing it for non-Iraqis or those who become citizens through naturalization. He also emphasized that ten years must pass before they are eligible to run for office in order to demonstrate their loyalty to the Iraqi nation and to verify their good behavior. 

Eligibility

The eligibility criteria, which is full legal capacity, must be met by anyone taking on the roles of council member or president. This is required under the constitution. A closer look at the amended Law No. 12 of 2018, which is the Law on Elections to the Council of Representatives and Provincial and District Councils, reveals that of the same law specify a number of requirements that voters and candidates must fulfill. According to Article 55 of the 2005 Iraqi Constitution, which we have reviewed after examining the legal and constitutional texts, an absolute majority of the Council members must pick the Speaker of the Council and his two deputies.

From the aforementioned perspective, we see that the Iraqi lawmaker performed well in electing the Speaker of the Council by a majority of the entire population rather than a majority of those in attendance. "The session shall be convened under the leadership of the eldest member to elect the Speaker of the Council and his two deputies and it is not permissible to extend it beyond the aforementioned duration," the Constitution's Article 54 stated. The eldest member's duties are temporary and restricted to electing the Speaker and his two deputy members as well as running the meeting. The Iraqi lawmaker need to have handled this matter by outlining a precise and unambiguous wording that encompasses the election issue.

Given the aforementioned, we can conclude that the election of the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament under the current constitution, as stipulated in Article 55, for multiple consecutive terms is unconstitutional. This is because the Speaker was not elected during the first session of the current constitution.

A Speaker and two Deputy Speakers will be chosen by the House of Representatives from among its members at the first meeting of the regular yearly session for the legislative term, according to the Egyptian Constitution. The House will elect a replacement if one of these posts becomes vacant. The election's rules and processes will be outlined in the parliament's internal regulations. A two-thirds majority of the parliament’s members must decide whether to remove a member who is not performing the duties of his position and a third of the members may request this action."

The legal Framework for the Presidency of the Iraqi Parliament

The Iraqi Parliament is the law-making body of Iraq, tasked with creating legislation and monitoring the government's activities by managing the country's legal framework and the operations within the Parliament of Iraq. Its structure adheres to the 2005 Iraqi Constitution, which includes the process of electing the Speaker, their two assistants, their authorities and the guidelines for when the Speaker's position becomes available. However, a vacancy in the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives may occur for various reasons, necessitating the activation of parliamentary delegation. This is a legal mechanism that allows the Deputy Speaker to temporarily assume the duties of the Speaker until a new Speaker is elected or the reason for the Speaker's absence ceases to exist. 

Based on the above, we will divide this requirement into two sections. The first section will address the constitutional basis for the acting Speakership of the House of Representatives and the second section will address the legal nature of the position of Acting Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The Constitutional Basis for The Acting Presidency of the Iraqi Parliament

The Iraqi Parliament is the highest legislative authority in the country, deriving its legitimacy from the 2005 Iraqi Constitution. The Constitution establishes the legal framework for its operation and defines the roles of the Council of Representatives within the Iraqi political system, which is based on the principle of separation of powers, while ensuring balance and integration among the legislative, executive and judicial branches. According to Article 49 of the Iraqi Constitution, the Council of Representatives is formed by members elected through direct, secret, universal suffrage, representing all segments of the Iraqi people.

Although the 2005 Iraqi Constitution does not explicitly mention the term "parliamentary representation," Study stipulates that the Speaker of the Council of Representatives, along with a First Deputy Speaker and a Second Deputy Speaker, are elected by an absolute majority of the Council's members through direct, secret ballot.      The Iraqi Constitution of 2005 lacks a specific reference to a "parliamentary delegation," but mandates that the Parliament's Speaker, along with two Deputy Speakers, be chosen by a clear majority of Parliament members via a private and immediate vote during the initial assembly. According to the same Constitution, the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament is in charge of overseeing meetings and coordinating the Parliament's activities. If the Speaker is unavailable, the First Deputy Speaker takes over their responsibilities immediately, as outlined in the internal rules. The internal rules also state that the First Deputy Speaker takes provisional control of Parliament whenever the Speaker is absent for any reason. Even though there is no explicit constitutional rule covering this situation, the internal regulations are employed to finalize the remaining actions.

After examining the established rules inside the Iraqi Council of Representatives, particularly within the wording of researcher, which explained the actions of the Council's Initial Deputy Speaker, the legal framework and internal guidelines of the Council grant authority to the Deputy Speaker to take on the responsibilities of the Council's Speaker when the Speaker's position is empty or the Speaker is not present and it made no mention of the word "deputy" in any context because it laid out the particular situations in which the Council's Initial Deputy Speaker carries out these responsibilities solely in specified instances and this circumstance did, in reality, occur when the past Speaker of the Council, Mohammed Rikan Al-Halbousi, was not present because the Supreme Federal Court made a ruling that ended his membership and because the court's ruling was made public, the Council's Deputy Speaker immediately took over the obligations of the Council's Speaker.

An examination of Internal Regulation No. 1 of 2022 issued by the Iraqi Parliament shows that it tackles the same issue, stating that "Should the position of the Speaker of Parliament or either of their deputies become unoccupied for any reason, Parliament is required to elect a replacement with an absolute majority in its initial session to occupy the vacant position, adhering to the principles of maintaining political balance among the different political groups. " The wording of the previously mentioned article is perfectly straightforward, drawing its significance from what comes before: immediately after a position becomes available, regardless of the reason, the Speaker must be elected during the Parliament's first session. Conversely, the Iraqi Constitution of 2005 lacks any explicit constitutional mention of the idea of deputyship under any constitutional description. It would have been more suitable for the Iraqi legislative body to have incorporated this idea within the Iraqi Parliament's Internal Regulations.

Despite the existence of a firm constitutional basis in the legal and constitutional articles for electing the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, we have not observed any constitutional provision that includes or refers to the term "delegation." It would have been more appropriate for the Parliament to define the correct legal concept under any name, given that the Iraqi Parliament is the legislative and oversight body at the national level in the Republic of Iraq and is responsible for enacting federal laws.

From the foregoing, we see that this matter has not been constitutionally achieved, despite the existence of numerous legal and constitutional violations concerning the issue of "selecting the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament," due to clear violations of the decisions of the Federal Supreme Court.

The Legal Nature of the Position of Speaker of the House of Representatives and His Two Deputies

The nature of the legislative authority, especially in the 2005 constitution, is represented in the parliament, which was elected by the people, as it is one of the most important pillars of the parliamentary system, which we see as being an expression of the democratic experience, through the election of representatives to the parliament in order to carry out their functional duties through the legislation of laws. We find that the legislative authority is formed from two chambers, one of which is the “House of Representatives,” and the other is the “Council of the Federation”. The legal nature of the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament is fundamentally based on the fact that he is a "constitutional position and the head of the legislative and supervisory authority," and this matter must be given due importance and the laws must be applied and the constitutional texts must be acted upon and not violated for any reason whatsoever.             

It is widely recognized that the Iraqi Council of Representatives' members elect the Parliament Speaker for a tenure of four years. The Parliament Speaker has to be chosen from the Parliament members and needs to have the backing of most of the Iraqi Council of Representatives members. The position's legal characteristic involves acting for the Parliament in its established interactions with both the executive and judicial divisions of government. The Speaker holds constitutional authority through representing the Parliament, leading parliamentary meetings and authenticating legislation.

Hence, the Iraqi legislative body has determined the key underlying concepts and made clear the judicial traits of this role by setting up the valid judicial infrastructure. The correct execution of these judicial documents by the Speaker, along with the two Deputy Speakers, is critically important. According to the legal documents mentioned previously, the First Deputy Speaker takes over the Speaker's responsibilities if the Speaker is not present for any given reason.

The investigator noted that when the position of Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament became vacant, settled the matter, emphasizing the assumption of the Speaker's duties in his absence or inability to perform them. It made no mention of the concept of deputyship or representation. It would have been more appropriate to consider this issue for the future and to use the correct legal terminology in accordance with the provisions of the law. The responsibility of the Speaker of Parliament entails accountability, which can be invoked in cases of constitutional violations, political failures, legislative oversights or the commission of serious errors.

From the foregoing, we find that the 2005 Constitution granted powers and responsibilities to the Parliament, thereby giving it significant influence over the executive branch. Members of Parliament are not public officials in the administrative sense, nor are they members of the executive branch. Rather, they are responsible for managing the affairs of the legislative branch, within the framework of rules defined by the Constitution and the Parliament's internal regulations.

• Nomination is one of the most fundamental steps in selecting a member of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, thereby earning the right to receive the attention of the Iraqi legislature and address any legislative shortcomings

• It has become clear to us that the acting presidency of the Council is a customary constitutional procedure resorted to by the Council's leadership when the position of Speaker is vacant or the Speaker is unable to exercise their powers. The First Deputy Speaker is then entitled to preside over the Council temporarily until a Speaker is elected

• The situation when Mr. Mohsen Al-Mandalawi took over as temporary president of the Council for a set amount of time shows how this method works. He was in charge and had total power based on the rules of the Iraqi Council of Representatives. It might have been better not to call him "temporary" because that word is not in any part of the constitution

• We've noticed that political groups keep agreeing and sharing power but they have not truly followed what the constitution and laws say. This has caused some mistakes in using the rules of the constitution correctly

Recommendations

• It is our suggestion that the legislative body in Iraq responsible for constitutional matters should make revisions to the internal rules governing the Council of Representatives, specifically by incorporating a clearly stated section that mentions or utilizes the wording "interim Speaker of the Council"

• A more thorough approach is required to implement the process for selecting the Speaker of the Council or someone to take the place of a member of the Council of Representatives; this can be achieved by setting a particular timeframe in the internal rules or through a dedicated law for this scenario, with the aim of preventing it from happening repeatedly later on and to shorten the period during which the post is unfilled

• An obvious constitutional clause is required that elucidates the method and stipulations for an individual serving as an acting speaker, with the purpose of circumventing disagreements in legal terms pertaining to its implementation, implying that the laws should be adjusted to align with the existing societal, political and financial realities

• Our suggestion is that the Iraqi legislative branch should reassess the matter of "educational credentials," which concerns the necessity of possessing a higher level of education for the individual holding the Speaker of the Council position, as well as for the Deputy Speakers, in light of the fact that the Speaker position carries great importance and those who occupy it should fulfill and adhere to very high criteria

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