The Problem of Criminalizing Partnership and Incitement in the Iraqi Anti-Prostitution Law after the 2024 Amendment: A Comparative Analytical Study

Abstract

This research addresses the problem of criminalizing the partner and familial incitement in the Iraqi Anti-Prostitution Law following the 2024 amendment, in light of the principle of unity of the criminal act and the equivalence of criminal responsibility.

The research problem lies in the continued exemption of the partner (the client) from liability, despite being an essential element in the existence of the phenomenon, as well as the absence of explicit criminalization of a husband inciting his wife to engage in prostitution. This raises questions regarding the consistency of the legislative framework with the philosophy of contemporary criminal policy and with Iraq’s constitutional and international obligations. The study aims to analyze the legislative basis of this permissibility, to demonstrate the impact of the contradiction between the Anti-Prostitution Law and the Penal Code on the unity of criminalization, and to evaluate the position of Iraqi legislation in comparison with Arab and foreign trends.

The study adopts the analytical method to examine and deconstruct legal texts and assess their internal coherence, as well as the comparative method to identify legislative differences and derive their implications. The research concludes that the recent amendment has expanded the scope of criminalization without addressing the structural imbalance in the distribution of responsibility, leading to a violation of the principle of proportionality and weakening deterrence. It also reveals a clear deficiency in criminalizing spousal incitement as a complex form of familial exploitation. The study recommends redefining the scope of the prostitution offense to include the partner, introducing an explicit provision criminalizing spousal incitement as an aggravating circumstance, and achieving harmony between the relevant laws in order to restore balance to criminal policy and enhance the protection of human dignity.