CRIMINAL PROTECTION OF AIR THROUGH CRIMINAL LAW: THE CASE STUDY OF IRAQ

The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive analysis of the legislations and laws to penalize air polluters in Iraq after 2003, and to highlight the modern legal trends in determining air pollution crimes on the grounds that there is an assault on the air and the laws are not always intended to protect human beings, as the latter is only part of the elements of nature and is not nature itself. Therefore, the protection of the air from pollution should be the objective and the assault should be penalized and this will have a positive impact on the people and the environment. Hence, this paper proposes to adopt the criminalization of the acts which are assaults against the environment and the air, as it requires legal recognition of the importance of the subject which poses a real threat to the environment. This researcher will also look at the availability of legal texts that effectively protect the air from pollution in accordance with the Iraqi Penal Code, Law No. 111 of 1969. Additionally, this researcher will also analyze some of the special legal provisions criminalizing acts for polluting the environment that preceded the US occupation of Iraq in 2003. For this purpose, a qualitative method of research is adopted and primary and secondary sources will also be consulted.