Applicable Law on Personal Status in Private International Law: An Analytical Study in Iraqi Law

Personal status issues occupy great importance and wide scope in the conflict of laws, as evident in matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and wills, among others. The conflict of laws in personal status issues raises multiple problematic aspects in determining the applicable law. Our Iraqi legislator has relied on nationality as a connecting factor in personal status issues, as it provides the greatest protection for the Iraqi individual and the public order in Iraq, according to our Iraqi legislator's viewpoint supported by jurisprudence. However, the application of nationality law in the conflict of laws in the field of personal status has created several problematic issues that affect individuals' acquired rights and pose difficulties in safeguarding these rights.