The Interest as a Legal Criterion and Legislative Basis in Enacting Laws: A Comparative Study between Iraq and Iran

Abstract

This study explores the role of public interest as a fundamental condition in the legislative process in Iraq and Iran. It analyzes its influence on shaping legislative policy and the legal standards used to define it. The research highlights how lawmakers in both countries rely on public interest as a guiding principle for legislation, examining constitutional and legislative criteria, as well as the standards of justice and harmony with the legal and judicial system. The aim is to demonstrate the centrality of public interest in lawmaking and its impact on achieving social justice and legal stability. This research adopts a comparative analytical approach, examining legal and constitutional texts in both Iraq and Iran and analyzing how the "public interest" is employed in guiding legislative policy. It also relies on a descriptive approach to understand the theoretical framework of the public interest and an inductive approach to draw conclusions from practical applications and existing legislation.

This research concludes that "public interest" represents the cornerstone of the lawmaking process in both Iraq and Iran and serves as a guiding standard for legislative policy, although the mechanisms for defining and implementing it vary between the two countries. The study demonstrated that the absence of a precise and unified definition of public interest leads to variations in its interpretation, which impacts the quality of legislation and its consistency with justice and the legal system. It also demonstrates that constitutional and legislative standards, along with the criterion of achieving justice, play a pivotal role in defining the concept of public interest and directing it toward serving society.