Legal Security and its Impact on Civil Contracts

Abstract

This research addresses the principle of legal security as one of the fundamental pillars for ensuring the stability of legal transactions, with a particular focus on its impact on civil contracts. The study analyzes the theoretical foundations of legal security and explores its influence on the different stages of contract formation, from negotiation to execution. It also highlights the legislative gaps and practical challenges facing the consolidation of this principle in the Iraqi legal system, compared to the Egyptian and French systems. The research concludes that enhancing legal security directly contributes to the stability of contracts and builds trust between contracting parties. It emphasizes the need for legislative and judicial reforms to explicitly codify this principle in Iraqi civil law.

It has been shown that the absence of explicit texts in Iraqi legislation, the inconsistency of judicial precedent, and the continued use of unbalanced adhesion contracts are all factors that undermine legal security in contracts. In contrast, the French and Egyptian experiences have demonstrated more mature models in terms of recognizing the central value of legal security in legislation and litigation, which has contributed to strengthening contractual stability. Furthermore, modern civil contracts, particularly digital and cross-border contracts, require legal systems to develop their legislative structure to ensure the integration of concepts such as transparency, good faith, and contractual justice under the umbrella of legal security.