ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani submitted a formal letter to Iraq’s highest judicial authority concerning the ongoing salary crisis. The issue escalated in late May after the federal government suspended all financial entitlements to Erbil, claiming the Region had exceeded its allocated share of the federal budget.
In a statement, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) quoted PM Barzani as saying, “We have sent a letter to the Federal [Supreme] Court regarding the illegality and unconstitutionality of the decision by the federal finance ministry to suspend the salary [disbursements] and financial entitlements of the Kurdistan Region.”
Tensions between Erbil and Baghdad intensified in late May when the federal finance ministry halted all budget transfers to the 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.
The KRG’s Wednesday statement further quoted PM Barzani as hoping the federal court would “make a positive decision in favor of the people of Kurdistan.” He stressed that the KRG “has fulfilled all of its constitutional obligations and demands,” and therefore, “its constitutional rights ought to be respected and its financial entitlements transferred.”
Earlier in the day, KRG Spokesperson Peshawa Hawramani clarified in a post on X that the letter to the court was sent on Monday. He also noted that PM Barzani had prioritized the salary crisis during the KRG’s weekly cabinet meeting, held on Wednesday, describing it as “the most pressing issue.”
According to Hawramani, “The federal court will soon convene and decide on the [legality of the suspension] of salaries of the [Kurdistan] Region's employees.”
Earlier in June, the Federal Supreme Court announced that it had registered a lawsuit filed by public servants in the Kurdistan Region, seeking an injunction to compel the federal government to resume salary payments. However, the court has yet to convene to decide on the case.
The plaintiffs based their case on a previous court decision - Ruling No. 224 and its consolidated case 269/Federal/2023 - which obliges both the federal government and the KRG to ensure uninterrupted salary payments to public sector employees, retirees, and social welfare beneficiaries in the Region.
The ruling explicitly states that political disputes between Baghdad and Erbil must not be used as grounds to withhold constitutionally guaranteed monthly salaries.
Of note, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid met on Sunday with Federal Supreme Court Chief Justice Jassim al-Umairi in Baghdad, stressing the importance of addressing the salary issue. Hawre Tofiq, a spokesperson for the Iraqi presidency who attended the key meeting, told Rudaw that the court has agreed to review the lawsuit “as soon as possible.”
