““The Legal Regulation of Building Permits in Iraqi Legislation

Abstract

A building permit is regarded as one of the most important administrative instruments dealing with the regulation of the rights of property in the society. This is a right guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Iraq (2005) and refers to it in Article (23/First), which states that "private property is protected, and the owner has the right to benefit from, exploit, and dispose of it within the limits of the law." Furthermore, Article (27/Second) of the same Constitution provides that "the provisions relating to the preservation of the state property, the administration of it and the conditions and limits of its disposal shall be controlled by law." In this respect the legislator steps in to make the rules and controls for the granting of building permits as the public interest in the urban development is taken into account. The main goal of granting building permits is to maintain the urban character of cities with the imposition of the building requirements and preventing random or unplanned building, the negative impacts of which affect the health and social aspects of residential areas. These regulations are contained in the several legislative texts such as the Municipal Administration Law No. 165 of 1964, the Roads and Buildings Regulation No. 44 of 1935 (as amended) and most recently the Building Permit Regulation No. 2 of 2016. In the end, the property owners that wish to build must obey the conditions to acquire a building permit and strictly follow the related legal provisions.