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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Nine members of Iraq's Federal Supreme Court submitted their resignations on Thursday in protest against the court's chief justice, casting a planned session on the Kurdistan Region's civil servant salaries into uncertainty.
Six main and three reserve members of the court resigned over disputes with Chief Justice Jassim al-Umairi, according to Rudaw's reporter on the ground. The court is made up of a total nine main members and four reserves.
'The behavior of the court president is unacceptable to us, and we are tired of dealing with his working manners,' a court member who resigned told Rudaw.
One of the members is a Kurd from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
This comes ahead of a planned session - which was set for Thursday - at the request of public servants in the Kurdistan Region, seeking an injunction to compel the federal government to resume salary payments. However, the resignations have cast the session into uncertainty.
Soran Omar, an Iraqi parliament lawmaker from the Kurdistan Justice Group (Komal), questioned the reason behind their resignation.
'The judges' excuse is having problems with the court president, but the real reason is still unclear,' he told Rudaw.
Tensions between Erbil and Baghdad intensified in late May when the federal finance ministry halted all budget transfers to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), including the salaries of more than 1.2 million public sector employees. The ministry stated that the decision was due to the Region exceeding its 12.67 percent share of the 2025 federal budget.
The move has drawn widespread condemnation from Kurdish parties, who argue the suspension is politically driven and unconstitutional.
Halkawt Aziz contributed to this report.
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