Ways to address malicious litigation in Iraqi law (a comparative study)

Despite the importance and seriousness of malicious litigation, the Iraqi legislator has not established a specific provision or general theory addressing malicious litigation in criminal matters. Even the existing legal texts related to this issue suffer from certain deficiencies and a great deal of ambiguity, which has negatively affected the handling of such cases. As a result, problems have become more complex, and the right to litigation has shifted from being a means of protecting rights and interests to a cause for the loss of those rights. Malicious litigation is a form of abusive or deceitful use of the right to litigation. It is a type of trickery, cunning, and deception resorted to by those lacking evidence or unsupported by the law. It is closely tied to the principle of good faith, as the freedom and right of parties to litigate is limited and not absolute. A party who does not act in good faith when presenting evidence—whether in making a claim or offering a defense—is considered to be acting in bad faith. Although parties have the freedom to present evidence for their claims or defenses by various means, they are obligated to ensure that such evidence and arguments are lawful and free from malice, deceit, and fraud. The purpose of such tactics is often to obtain a court ruling in their favor. Malicious litigation can be committed by any party, whether litigants, judges, or their aides, and at any stage of criminal proceedings.