With great persistence, Iraqi Justice Minister Hassan al-Shammari has kept pushing the controversial Jaafari personal status law to the forefront. He succeeded in passing the bill in the council of ministers and sent it to parliament, amid rejection by Iraqi civil forces.

It is only natural that the law became associated with the justice minister and the Virtue Party to which he belongs because, aside from the minister and his party, no political, parliamentary or religious party has adopted the law. Even Iraq’s Shiite religious authority has distanced itself from the push to adopt this law. 

But how did the justice minister get all this momentum for the law, and how did he overcome all the administrative and political obstacles and push the law to the forefront just weeks before the parliamentary elections, noting that the council of ministers decided on Dec. 4, 2013, to postpone the decision until after the election?

The answer to this question has legal and religious aspects. At the legal level, the law is consistent with Article 41 of the Iraqi Constitution, which reads, “Iraqis are free to abide by their personal status according to their religions, sects, beliefs or choices, as regulated by law.”